Author: Tuvia Gering
Affiliation: Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security (JISS)
Organization/Publisher: 9Dashline
Date/Place: September 27, 2021/London, UK
Type of Literature: Analysis
Word Count: 2250
Link: https://www.9dashline.com/article/the-indo-pacific-is-calling-israel
Keywords: Israel, China, US, India, Military Cooperation, Research and Development, Quad, Asia-Pacific, Indo-Pacific
Brief:
The author in this explainer advocates in favor of Israel joining the US-led Quad – a four-member security alliance along with Australia, Japan and India. Tel Aviv, however, is focused on domestic affairs and regional challenges. For Israel, the author argues, China is not seen as a strategic partner. Tel Aviv has, of late, grown as a research and development laboratory for Beijing with whom Israel has reached over $11 billion trade annually. As the author vouches for Israel to join the Quad, he argues that Beijing has “not shied away from openly coercing Israeli companies, interfering in its internal affairs, infringing on citizens’ freedom of expression, and exploiting its membership in international organizations to get at the US and win the favor of the Muslim countries.” He adds that China has given a lifeline to Iran, presumably the arch rival of Israel, in the form of weaponry and a multi-billion-dollar economic package, and how “it can destabilize the Middle East even with friendly relations with all countries.” In the wider Asia-Pacific realm, the author says the middle powers hold the ground amid the “arm-wrestling match that has become of Sino-US relations” preventing either side “from winning.” This, the author claims, provides Israel to come much closer to India as the “countries’ shared perception of existential threat and the genuine common threat of radical Islam”, however, completely neglecting the war crimes committed by the two states in occupied territories of Palestine and Kashmir. Another area that the author argues makes Israel a “significant player” is the Israeli cyber and intelligence sector. Tel Aviv’s recent Global Cybernet Shield — international cybersecurity initiative, says the author, is a major tool against cyber bullying against nations. Taiwan, a self-ruling island nation, has been the first to welcome the idea, while Israel has been holding an annual dialogue with Australia where, at its latest summit, the “China challenge” was high on the agenda.
By: Riyaz ul Khaliq, CIGA Non-Resident Research Associate
