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Biden's QUAD summit could yield up to $100bn in military sales
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Robinder Sachdev | 19 Sep, 2021
US President Joe Biden will be hosting the QUAD countries' heads of
governments summit this coming week, in Washington D.C. comprising of
the US, Japan, Australia, and India. By end of the week, there could be
announcements of military deals with Japan, Australia, and India, that
may total up to $100 billion in American defence exports.
In
fact, the Australian submarine deal, signed on Thursday, itself is
estimated at $40 billion (and projected to reach $90 billion in
long-term). In the days ahead, before September 24, when the formal QUAD
summit will be held, Japan could also well, and does need to, sign up
for some $20-30 billion package, and the same goes for India. India too
has its multiple needs for hardware, needs to ramp up fast, and thus
could finalise a mega-purchase this week from the US, again in the
$20-30 billion range.
Today, as the 21st century grows beyond its
teen years, the US faces unprecedented global and domestic challenges.
Not in the least is to overcome the snafu situation that has resulted in
Afghanistan. And to counter, to deny (deny, not delay) the rise of
China as a world hegemon, Middle Kingdom power, between the Heavens and
Planet Earth, in the 21st century.
The US is now leading the QUAD
towards a loose but muscular military alliance to prevent the planetary
dominance plans of China. As part of the US plan, the Indo-Pacific
nations of Japan, India, Australia will need to each boost up their
defence and offence capabilities, for their own national, self-interest,
with accompanying investments also made by the US in its own force
projection in this theatre. Consequently, together the QUAD will become a
formidable firewall to the expansionism and military adventurism of
China.
It makes eminent sense for Japan, Australia, and India to
urgently shore up their military and defence abilities, including tools
and abilities for offence to give China a bloodied nose if it interferes
in their sovereign national interests. The obvious supplier of such
military hardware and capabilities are the US defence companies. The
obvious payor for such procurements are the governments of Japan,
Australia, and India.
A question of economic self-interest of the
US also manifests at this critical junction of world history. Decoded
in simple terms, the question for the US is also to identify which are
the next markets for its defence industry. Thus far, in past 20 years,
the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were major consumers of US defence
exports. Though the buyer in these cases was mostly the US government
itself, but the spend benefited the sales of US defence industry.
With
the for-ever wars in Iraq and Afghanistan now over. Where is the next
big market for US defence exports? Thanks to China, which through its
behaviour, is ensuring that the next big market for military sales by
the US is in the Indo-Pacific region.
The QUAD meetings next week
could therefore well and logically result in agreements that total up
to $100 billion worth of American defence exports and jobs creation in
America, and enhanced security for all members in the Indo-Pacific
region, including the upping of the military punch of each Japan,
Australia, and India with respect to China.
(Robinder Sachdev is president of the Imagindia Institute. All views expressed are personal.)
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