Washington is seeking to “preserve its global hegemony” as it and NATO try to shore up ties with India and other countries in the Indo-Pacific, a member of an Indian think-tank has told Sputnik.
Commodore RS Vasan, an Indian Navy veteran and the Director of the Chennai Centre for Chinese Studies (C3S), said the main objective of the West in the region is to try to “contain” China, the biggest economy in Asia.
He noted that preventing China from replacing the US as the pre-eminent global power has in a way been institutionalized in the National Security Strategy released by the Biden administration last year.
Vasan said that another important objective that NATO seeks to achieve through greater involvement in the region is to counter the expanding strategic partnership between Russia and China.
It's worth noting that NATO's new 'Strategic Concept' recognizes China as a "systemic challenge", for the first time in the bloc's history. In the meantime, NATO has increased official-level contacts with Japan, Australia, South Korea and New Zealand, all of which have been invited to a foreign ministers' meeting at the grouping's headquarters in Brussels this week.
Vasan said that the West needs India more than ever in achieving its strategic objectives, as well as maintaining a geopolitical status quo.
“India is now being viewed as central in Asia-Pacific as well as the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). It is largely because of its growing economic and overall clout in global affairs,” the expert explained, noting the fact that nearly half the global trade crosses the region.
Recognizing India’s growing global significance, former Indian Ambassador Anil Trigunayat said that New Delhi would “pass on” any institutionalized offer from NATO, noting that India already maintained bilateral security contacts with individual NATO members.
India Wants a Change in Global Order
Comparing New Delhi’s foreign policy approach with that of the US, the Indian expert highlighted that New Delhi has been backing a change in the post-war global order, which put western interests at its core.
This year, New Delhi assumed the presidency of the G20 grouping, which is increasingly viewed as an alternative to the G7 club of rich democracies.
In this regard, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that New Delhi would be an advocate for issues concerning the Global South, which at the moment include food and energy security, climate change and debt sustainability.
India also holds the presidency of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), a Eurasian economic and political organization. Besides, it is a member of other similar groupings such as BRICS and RIC.
Russia’s New Foreign Policy Concept Should Be ‘Welcomed’
Vasan said that Russia’s new foreign policy concept, unveiled by President Vladimir Putin last week, should be “welcomed” in New Delhi as it sought to advance a multilateral global order.
The new foreign policy doctrine says that Moscow will continue to enhance and expand its “special and privileged strategic partnership” with India in different domains. Further, Moscow has also vowed to boost the stature of multilateral groupings such as BRICS and SCO.
Vasan noted that the focus on Global South in Moscow’s new foreign document was in line with the objectives of India’s G20 presidency.
In his turn, Ambassador Trigunayat said that “multilateralism” was emerging as a “major constituent” of the India-Russia partnership.
Both the experts noted that India-Russia strategic and economic partnership would continue to grow, backed by strong exchanges in military and energy sectors.
Moscow is not only India’s top defense supplier, but has also become the country’s top supplier of crude. The two countries have set a bilateral trade target of $50Bln, after bilateral trade levels hit a record in 2022-23.
India’s Main Concern is the Border Dispute With China
The Indian Navy veteran, however, contended that western countries’ growing involvement in Indo-Pacific presented New Delhi with “options” in case of escalation at the Sino-India border.
“India is already a part of a US-led Quad initiative. New Delhi could leverage its position in these groupings given the border differences with China,” he reckoned
Last week, Biden’s Indo-Pacific ‘czar’ Kurt Campbell said that India would never be a US ally.
Troops from India and the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) have been involved in a military standoff in the eastern Ladakh region since May-June 2020. Although the troops have disengaged from their positions and tensions have begun to relax in certain areas, more than 60,000 of them on each side remain engaged at two locations.
Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said last week that the relationship with China won’t be normal as long as there are troops deployed at the border.