Striking a balance between Russia and Quad will be difficult for India
On April 5, Russian Foreign eign Minister Sergei Lavrov met with India’s External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar. They discussed scussed a range of issues, including ding the Indo- Pacific situation. New Delhi- based media outlet et Wion, on April 6 reported ed that, “India’s position is clear. It will not engage in a NATO- like military alliance with the Quad and that’s the challenge for Delhi, striking the right balance between Russia and the Quad.”
India’s strategy is to maintain i i a balance between great powers in a bid to maximize its national interests. But it is hard to achieve in practice. This is especially so when current USRussia ties continue to deteriorate. As Reuters claimed, “Moscow’s ties with Washington are at a post- Cold War low.” Against this backdrop, India’s strategy of trying to please both sides is easier said than done.
India has collaborated with the Quad and Russia, but has divergences with both of them. For example, in terms of containing China, India has seldom publicly mentioned China in this regard. This is different from Washington, Tokyo and Canberra. Furthermore, India’s human rights conditions were criticized by the West last month. All these mentioned above will impair India’s relations with the Quad.
On Tuesday, Indian media outlet the Print reported Jaishankar reiterated that he sees Moscow as a “key partner” in New Delhi’s Indo- Pacific initiative, something that Russia called “anti- China” policy. It is noticeable that when referring to the region, Russia uses “Asia- Pacific” instead of “IndoPacific.” Washington and New Delhi prefer to use the latter framework to target China. This illustrates that Moscow, as a strategic partner of China, is on the same page with Beijing on this issue.
Both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Lavrov have repeatedly claimed that Moscow opposes any anti- China alliance.
In 2019, in his speech at the final plenary session of the 16th meeting of the Valdai International Discussion Club, Putin argued that any attempt to create some kind of a bloc- based organization is “un- Asian to begin with” and “unlikely to be feasible.”
In July 2020, Lavrov strongly criticized the US- led Indo- Pacific Strategy, calling it as “an attempt to put together a group of countries that would openly… contain China’s development.”
By saying that, Moscow cautions New Delhi against joining organizations like the Quad. It also believes that India’s involvement in this US- led anti- China mechanism will upset the balance in the Indo- Pacific region, and also affect Moscow’s relations with New Delhi. Therefore, Russia is currently very unsatisfied with India’s deepening ties with the Quad mechanism.
Moreover, Russian military equipment may also contribute to India’s difficulty in maintaining a balance between Russia and the Quad; to be more specific, with the US. Talks between Russian and Indian foreign ministers also touched on the ongoing discussions between the two over the additional production of Russian military equipm equipment in India. This is being discu discussed despite US objections. Th This might anger Washington e even more. Defense co cooperation plays an important part in what both Moscow and New Delhi consider to be their “Special and Privileged S Strategic Partnership.” In th this regard, there is a his historical bond of high level cooperation betw between the two: India was a partner with the Sovie Soviet Union back in the d day.
Sti Still, India is attemptin tempting to secure its b balance l b between the two major military powers that are also India’s old and new military partners. It may be not feasible and even leave both Russia and the US feeling unpleased.
But for India, procuring military equipment itself is the most important objective. The equipment from Russia is often more compatible with India’s current weapons systems. If India buys both US and Russian weapons at the same time, this will produce more problems for the Indian army in terms of logistics and joint warfare capabilities.