Due to a curious turn of events, Indian diplomacy has waded into choppy waters. After a phase of strengthening of bilateral ties with the United States and the present eruption of issues, India is seeking to get closer to old-time ally Russia and undependable neighbour China. Recent visits and interactions by top Indian government functionaries with leaders of these two countries were prompted by a renewed interest in boosting ‘fraternal’ relations. On the other hand, the US under the Trump administration has distanced itself from India through a harsh 50 percent tariff imposition on Indian products. That the US is closely watching India’s responses is evident from White House trade adviser Peter Navarro’s jibe that India “is getting in bed with authoritarians.” He stated this with a reminder about Chinese aggressions on India in the past. What he failed to note was that a democratic nation like India never got a fair deal from Washington – and the US always opted to side with Pakistan, a nation ruled mostly by military dictators. Even when Pakistan had periods of democratically elected leadership, it was remote controlled for most part by the military brass, as is the case now too. The US has shown no compunction in being on the right side of Pakistan or of several other dictatorial nations in the Islamic world, most notably Saudi Arabia. In an interdependent world, relations are built on the basis of mutual interests irrespective of whether a nation is democratic or dictatorial.
Be that as it may, it would sound a little odd that India now attempts to cozy up to China. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, external affairs minister Subramaniam Jaishankar and national security adviser Ajit Doval have reached up to their Chinese counterparts in attempts at mending fences. While the backdrop to this is Trump’s aggressive mood against India, the people here are not enthused at the establishment’s sudden surge in camaraderie with Beijing. China’s aggressiveness against India in recent times, vis-à-vis Galwan Valley, and its outreach to Doklam with ulterior motives against India too, and China’s attempts at international forums to put a spoke into India’s wheel in relation to New Delhi’s campaign against terrorism and Pakistan’s support to militants, are all fresh in our memory. China is encircling India with military muscle by setting up its naval bases across the geopolitical region. Beijing sides with India’s enemies and backs them with hi-tech armaments. Defence analysts have noted that it is not Pakistan but China that’s India’s main enemy.
As for Russia, most of the Putin era since the late 1990s had been a period when Moscow cold-shouldered India, despite the strong fraternal ties New Delhi maintained with it ever since Independence. A bonhomie however developed recently – mainly after the start of the Ukraine war, when Russia has been put on the defensive. PM Modi topped it with a “cheap fuel” deal – that’s now seen as an Achilles’ heel. In all of this the lesson learnt or that needs to be learnt is that a strain of consistency is integral to diplomacy.
