NEW DELHI—The United States, India, Australia, and Japan came together for their first Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) meeting virtually on March 12, while U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin visited India to boost strategic ties and to address common goals in the Indo-Pacific region. The events have inspired a strong rhetorical pushback from China, Russian, and Pakistan. Austin, who arrived in India on March 19 for a three-day visit, called the Indo-U.S. partnership a “central pillar” of American policy for the Indo-Pacific. In a statement, the Pentagon noted the joint efforts of India and the United States toward developing a “partnership to protect the Indo-Pacific.”  Talk of China dominated both the Quad gathering and Austin’s New Delhi visit. Without directly naming China, Austin told a group of reporters traveling with him to India: “I think working together with like-minded countries who have shared interests is the way you check any aggression …