The country wants India to join an emerging US-backed military alliance in their strategy against China’s rising influence in Indo-Pacific, according to a top military official from the South-East Asian nation.
Romeo Saturnino Brawner, the country’s military chief, said he wants India to become a part of “Squad,” a relatively-new defence alliance comprising the United States, Australia, Japan and the Philippines.
“I’m going to talk to General Anil Chauhan this afternoon and I am going to open it up,” Brawner said on Wednesday, referring to his meeting with India’s defence chief.
“I think we’re going to get a positive response.”
India’s Defence Ministry or the navy didn’t respond to an email seeking comments.
Brawner’s comments, made on the sidelines of the Raisina Dialogue security conference in New Delhi, come just days after China carried live-fire naval drills in international waters in the Tasman Sea.
Despite rising geopolitical tensions in the region, India has refrained from joining military alliances, and prefers bilateral pacts with nations for defence trainings and exercises.
“It is important that we really develop our self-reliance and we partner with other like-minded nations,” said Brawner. — Bloomberg
