China has suddenly got very aggressive about the Quad alliance, which India is a part of along with the US, Japan and Australia. A senior Chinese official, who is tipped to be the next foriegn minister, has said the creation of groups like the Quad were 'as dangerous' as NATO's eastward expansion in Europe, even warning that a crisis may follow in the region. Is China preparing the ground for something bigger here? Perhaps an invasion of Taiwan? New Delhi is watching the Moscow-Beijing bonhomie very closely. Only weeks before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Putin and Xi met and described their friendship as one of 'no limits'. India is still battling Chinese aggression on the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh nearly two years on. In fact, that issue came up today in Prime Minister Modi's virtual meeting with the PM of Australia. The Australian PM talked about the consequences of the Russian invasion for the Indo-Pacific region.
