India - Russia - China: Putin’s China visit
STORIES, ANALYSES, EXPERT VIEWS
Putin’s two-day visit to China last week to celebrate 75 years of diplomatic ties, ended in increase bonhomie between the two countries.
Calling Xi ‘my dear friend’, Putin said it is of fundamental importance that relations between Russia and China are ‘not opportunistic’, and ‘are not directed against anyone’. Xi said the China-Russia friendship was ‘everlasting’, and had ‘become a model for a new type of international relations’.
Xi has just returned from a tour of Europe where he met with the President of France, as well as the leaders of Hungary and Serbia, both of whom are friends with Putin.
India watches the developments even as it believes that it was the West that pushed Russia into a tighter embrace of China.
India’s concerns
For New Delhi, the Russia-China defence axis throws up critical questions writes Shubhajit Roy (Diplomatic Editor, IndianExpress).
“About 60-70% of Indian defence supplies come from Russia, and New Delhi needs regular and reliable supplies especially at a time when Indian and Chinese soldiers are locked in a standoff at the border for the last four years.
“Many western analysts have cautioned India about a scenario in which Russia becomes a ‘junior partner’ of China. At the same time, India would not want the Russian defence industry to suffer as a result of western sanctions — at least in the short-to-medium term.”
In the event of a war between India and China, Russia’s stance would be critical for India. “The Soviet Union’s position during the 1962 war was not particularly supportive of India. Moscow did extend its support during the 1971 war — however, this is neither 1962 or 1971, and Vladimir Putin’s Russia is not the old Soviet Union,” coincides Roy.
