5 days ago
Pragmatic manoeuvres
Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi's visit to India, scheduled for next week, is of a piece with the ongoing efforts in Beijing and New Delhi to improve bilateral ties that had gone south after the Galwan clashes in 2020. An early sign of the thaw was the resumption of the Kailash Mansarovar yatra in April. Operation Sindoor forced a pause in the movement. But diplomatic activity suggests that both countries are ready to move ahead, especially with the proposed resumption of flights, facilitation of tourist visas for the Chinese, albeit with stringent conditions, and actions to address trade concerns, including market access. The missing piece in all this was the resumption of border talks at the political level. That is set to change with Wang poised to have discussions with National Security Advisor Ajit Doval under the Mechanism of Special Representatives for the border issue — both had met in Beijing in December. The hectic diplomatic calendar also includes PM Narendra Modi's impending visit to Tianjin, China, for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit. The New Delhi-Moscow-Beijing triangle is ridden with strategic contradictions, particularly since Russia has become dependent on China and the latter continues to ignore India's concerns vis-à-vis Pakistan's support for terror and now, nuclear brinkmanship. (PTI Photo)
Complementing the China détente are the efforts made by Moscow and New Delhi to refurbish a legacy relationship. External affairs minister S Jaishankar is scheduled to meet Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov in Moscow, and President Vladimir Putin may attend the bilateral summit in India later this year. India-Russia trade, buoyed by Delhi's crude purchases since the start of the Ukraine war, reached a record high of $68.7 billion in FY 2024-25, though Indian exports accounted for only $4.88 billion. The New Delhi-Moscow-Beijing triangle is ridden with strategic contradictions, particularly since Russia has become dependent on China and the latter continues to ignore India's concerns vis-à-vis Pakistan's support for terror and now, nuclear brinkmanship. But the current geopolitical moment is such that all three countries see merit in sidestepping the contradictions and embracing common interests.
It is tempting to view India's growing ties with Russia and attempts to balance relations with China as a response to the US recalibrating its stance on Pakistan and the growing dissonance in Washington-New Delhi relations. For sure, Trump's obstinacy on tariffs and claims on Operation Sindoor may have provided an impetus, but New Delhi's pivot is also in line with India's stated resolve to maintain strategic autonomy. It must pursue this path, rather than be bullied by any nation to forgo its national interests and sign on to lopsided trade deals. New Delhi's foreign policy choices need not be viewed through binaries but as an expression of enhancing ties and removing irritants based on its national needs and geopolitical priorities.
