EDITORIAL1 : Nuts and bolts diplomacy
Context
PM’s five-nation tour is an opportunity beyond BRICS, Quad. At a turbulent time, Delhi must focus on securing its interests — not an expansive ideological vision
The Annual Summit
- Prime Minister Modi’s multi-nation tour, centered on the BRICS summit in Brazil, reflects India’s pursuit of strategic opportunities amid global uncertainty.
- With stops in Argentina, Trinidad and Tobago, Ghana, and Namibia, the trip signals diplomatic outreach beyond traditional partners.
- However, India must temper ideological ambitions and focus on pragmatic goals. BRICS, once promising, now reveals internal rifts—especially between India and China.
- Meanwhile, the Quad meeting in Washington highlights India’s balancing act between rival blocs.
- In a volatile world, India’s priority must remain self-strengthening and resilience at home, rather than grand declarations about reshaping global order through fragile multilateral
forums.
The History
- Prime Minister Modi’s first foreign visit in 2014 to the BRICS summit in Brazil marked his early enthusiasm for engaging major powers, especially China and Russia, while signaling a willingness to reset ties with Beijing.
- Just weeks later, his Washington visit aimed to elevate ties with the US, suggesting India’s intent to engage all major powers simultaneously.
- However, India’s great power relations have been far from linear. PM’s optimism on China quickly faded after repeated border crises in 2014, 2017, and 2020, underscoring Beijing’s assertive posture and exposing the widening power asymmetry.
- As relations with China soured, India’s partnership with the US gained traction.
- Meanwhile, Russia’s tilt toward Beijing, driven by its estrangement from the West following the Crimea annexation and Ukraine invasion, has diminished its role as a regional balancer for India.
- Once a hedge against US dominance, BRICS now appears less effective, prompting India to counterbalance China through the Quad.
- Promoting a multipolar Asia has become as crucial as advocating for a multipolar world.
- Since the Quad’s revival in 2017, it has become more central to India’s strategic calculus than BRICS, whose internal contradictions and the transactional approaches of Russia and China have become increasingly apparent.
- Despite anti-West rhetoric, both Moscow and Beijing are open to deals with Washington, as seen in their muted response during the Iran crisis and ongoing trade overtures.
- Meanwhile, India is focusing on substance over symbolism, working toward a bilateral trade deal with the US.
- Yet the Quad faces challenges too, especially amid Trump’s transactional foreign policy, rising allied concerns, and hints of a US-China rapprochement.
India’s concerns
- India has its own concerns, especially with Trump’s unexpected overture to Pakistan, which has caused unease in Delhi.
- However, the real challenge lies not with BRICS, but with the growing strategic alliance between China and Pakistan.
- More troubling is the emerging trilateral cooperation among Beijing, Dhaka, and Islamabad, and speculation about a China-led regional grouping outside the now-stalled SAARC.
- China has already launched its own Indian Ocean forum, signaling shifting regional dynamics.
- While these nations welcome diversified partnerships, including with India, they prioritize practical cooperation over ideology.
Way forward
- At a time when new uncertainties envelop India’s relations with great powers as well as neighbours, Delhi needs to focus on accelerating economic reforms at home, restoring domestic political unity, reclaiming the leadership of the Subcontinent, and strengthening ties with key developing nations.