Russian-Chinese Alliance: A Serious Concern for India
• Russia and India have maintained a strong partnership since the onset of the Ukraine crisis, with Moscow remaining India’s main defense supplier.
• In response to Western sanctions, Russia has increasingly grown closer to China, posing a major threat to New Delhi.
• Trade between Beijing and Moscow hit a record high in 2022, with exports and imports from Russia amounting to almost $200 billion.
Russia-India Ties
Russia and India have maintained a strong partnership since the onset of the Ukraine crisis. Despite pressure from the West over its involvement in the conflict, New Delhi has continuously abstained from voting against Moscow in several UN resolutions. Moreover, Russia continues to remain India’s main defense supplier despite competition from France and other countries. Between 2013–17, Russia accounted for 64% of Indian arms imports while this figure dropped to 45% during 2018–2022 due to increased efforts towards indigenization.
Growing Closeness between China & Russia
In response to Western sanctions on Moscow following its invasion of Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin has increasingly grown closer to China—a major adversary of India in Asia. This strong bilateral relationship is a serious concern for New Delhi as it could potentially lead to further military aggression against India by both countries together. Last year alone saw trade between Beijing and Moscow reach an all-time peak of nearly $200 billion as exports and imports from Russia rose significantly.
Implications for India
The growing closeness between Beijing and Moscow is likely going to pose a serious threat to India’s security interests in the near future if not addressed properly. It is important that New Delhi takes proactive steps now towards strengthening diplomatic ties with both countries so that it can maintain its strategic advantage over them when it comes time for negotiations on regional or global issues related to security or trade deals.
India’s Optimal Strategy
Given the current geopolitical environment, it is essential for New Delhi to develop an optimal strategy that balances its close ties with Russia with better relations with China without compromising on national security interests or risking escalation into armed conflict. This would involve engaging both countries through dialogue rather than relying solely on military power or economic measures such as sanctions or tariffs imposed by either side. Additionally, New Delhi should look into increasing cooperation across various sectors like energy production & conservation, agriculture technology & innovation etc., while also deepening ties at multilateral institutions like BRICS (Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa).
Conclusion
It is clear that maintaining positive relations between all three countries—Russia, China and India—is critical for regional stability in South Asia as well as globally given their combined influence on world affairs today. The challenge now lies in finding an effective solution which allows them all three parties involved can benefit mutually without endangering each other’s sovereignty or compromising their respective security interests