Comments by "M Shastri" (@libshastra) on "How Quad FMs’ meeting shows its possibilities, limitations, shared interests u0026 contradictions" video.

  1. "In summary, India shares some common interests with the other three Quad countries but is less able to withstand the costs that could be directed its way if it became a more active partner. This is due to internal weakness, proximate adversaries, the lack of an external alliance partner and a strategic culture which precludes the formation of formal alliances." Internal weakness. Unless our economy grows, our strategics aims will always remain unfulfilled. Also Quad should help build capacity of it's members. The one thing that kept NATO strong was strong state capacity of it's member. The Marshall plan helped build that State capacity that acted as a force multiplier of NATO in the 60s and 70s. Unfortunately, we don't have a luxury of decades to build capacity.
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  2. I don't understand the constant fascination we have for AUKUS. It was created to fulfill a particular strategic need in that region quickly. Also, let's think about it this way: What is India willing to give up to gain entry into an alliance like AUKUS? - Are we willing to give up our nuclear policy? - Are we willing to give up on development nuclear technology? - Are we willing to give up on advanced submarine technology? - Are we willing to give up diplomatic strategic autonomy? Do the costs of AUKUS outweigh the benefits?
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