America’s super power hallow has taken a battering after the shambolic exit from Afghanistan and Modi must have been aware of it as he met a beleaguered Biden at the white house.

America through it is hasty unilateral retreat from Afghanistan has not only offended its NATO allies but also destabilized the whole region creating multiple problems for countries like Bharat leaving them high and dry to face the music of international terrorists and terrorism.

It would be interesting to see what kind of commitments Modi managed to extract from Biden given America’s unceremonious exit from Afghanistan and its recent behaviour with  France who were booted out of the submarine deal inspite of being a staunch ally of America.

The big question in everyone’s mind is whether America can be trusted as an ally following the hasty retreat from Afghanistan and Biden’s current policy of having no American boots on the ground outside its shores.

The Quad arrangement has to viewed under these current realities and its the commitment of the US or the lack of it which will define the future of quad. 

For quad to be effective it has to be a military alliance with firm assurances from the US that it will protect its Quad partners from enemy attacks emanating in South and East China sea in the Indo Pacific and also those emanating from the northern, western and eastern borders of our country. 

Japan already has an undertaking from the the US that it will stand up for the former if it is attacked by any country but Bharat does not have any such arrangement with America in the eventuality of it being attacked by China and its allies. 

If Bharat were to be cornered by both China and Pakistan simultaneously it would need the support of either America or Russia to wade of such attack inspite of the prowess of our defence forces.

Russia currently is out of sync with Bharat and the coming visit of Vladimir Putin to New Delhi could resurrect those ties. But even if everything turns out to be hunky Dory between Putin and Modi it would be foolhardy to expect that Russia would come out openly against the Dragon if a confrontation happens between Bharat and China. 

It is paramount given the current geopolitical scene prevailing in the region that Bharat has a strong ally which  can stand along side our country with its men and machinery.

But given the current track record of America under Biden and the latter’s policy of minimum boots on foreign soil, it is a wishy washy situation with lots of ifs and buts. Will the America of today stand by Bharat if a push comes to a shove against China which is very likely given the latter’s expansionist mindset under Xi Jin Ping. 

Thus it is mandatory that the quad does not remain a symbolic and a toothless alliance but is a strong military alliance where it is incumbent and mandatory for the alliance partners to help each other in the wake of any country outside the quad attacking any of the Quad members.

Bharat is the only country within the Quad which is not a direct beneficiary of the US doleouts and commitments, for the other two including Australia and Japan are already protected with Australia getting nuclear submarines apart from being a part of the “AUKUS” which unlike the Quad is a military alliance between Australia, Britain and America.

Japan on the other hand already enjoys the US cover if it were to be attacked by any country.

Given these circumstances and the fact that Bharat is surrounded by enemies and terrorists which are the result of the current and previous policies of the various US Presidents it is essential that Quad becomes a military alliance with US as the main player with its might and muscle. 

The US is facing the heat from the world and has come under a lot of flak for its spineless  and non superpower  like actions in the region particularly Afghanistan with Biden’s own rating at a record low. 

This is the ideal time to pressurise it to make firm commitments which are honoured when the time comes. The militarisation of the Quad is a dire necessity and it is most plausible deterrent to an expansionist and Hege monistic China. 

Bharat under Modi needs to push America on this even as it continues to assuage Russia so that the former superpower does not in any way take sides with China.

Aggressive diplomacy which makes America accountable for its actions in the region by compensating Bharat for the spillover of terrorism in our country  that is inevitable because of the Taliban takeover is the need of the hour and the militarisation of the quad would be a big step in this direction.