Aggressive Actions Of China Forced India To Join Quad, Claims Former US Secretary Pompeo

Former US Secretary Mike Pompeo in his latest book claimed that India was forced to change its foreign policy and join the Quad because of China's aggressive actions.

Former US Secretary Mike Pompeo

Former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo claimed that India was forced to change its strategic posture and join the four-nation Quad meeting owing to China's aggressive actions. Pompeo in his latest book 'Never Give an Inch: Fighting for the America I Love', which hit the stores on Tuesday wrote, “The country (India) has always charted its own course without a true alliance system, and that is still mostly the case. But China’s actions have caused India to change its strategic posture in the last few years.”

Pompeo in his book called India a 'Wild Card' in Qaud due to it being a nation built on socialist ideology. India spending the Cold War without aligning either with the US or USSR was also one of the reasons for the same.

Pompeo in his book also explained how Donald Trump's administration succeeded in bringing India on board with the Quad joining. 

The nations such as the US, Japan, India, and Australia 2017 gave shape to the long-pending proposal of setting up the Quad which is a coalition to counter China's aggressive behaviour in the Indo-Pacific region that's known to be resource-rich.

China forged a close relationship with Pakistan as one of the first steps in its Belt and Road initiative. Pompeo wrote, "In June 2020, Chinese soldiers clubbed twenty Indian soldiers to death in a border skirmish. That bloody incident caused the Indian public to demand a change in their country’s relationship with China."

India has maintained that the bilateral relationship cannot be normal unless there is peace in the border area.

Pompeo further wrote, "India banned TikTok and dozens of Chinese apps as part of its response. And a Chinese virus was killing hundreds of thousands of Indian citizens. I was sometimes asked why India had moved away from China, and my answer came straight from what I heard from Indian leadership: 'Wouldn’t you?' times were changing — and creating an opportunity for us to try something new and pull the US and India more closely together than ever.”

(With PTI inputs)