Interestingly, communists in New Delhi have also begun to simulate outrage at the prospect of greater consultation and cooperation among Asia’s major democracies. The CPM, which objects so strenuously to American statements on India’s Iran policy, is now the first to demand a veto for Beijing on India’s policies towards the US and Japan. Think of the CPM’s anger if anyone in Washington had objected to India’s trilateral strategic dialogue with Russia and China. The CPM’s posturing on foreign policy autonomy seems to boil down to this — India should play second fiddle to China in Asia. The national diplomatic goal is entirely different — avoid an ideological foreign policy and reach out to the great powers in promoting India’s interests. That would demand a vigorous effort to elevate the quadrilateral dialogue with the US, Japan and Australia to the same level as its triangular engagement with Russia and China.