Will India lean towards China and Russia in response to US pressure?

Will India lean towards China and Russia in response to US pressure?

India-US relations became tense in early June. Initial diplomatic differences were exacerbated by Washington’s harsh statements against New Delhi and the imposition of punitive tariffs, but India has tried to avoid being drawn into a confrontation with the US and maintain its strategic independence.

In response to the new US policies, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has cautiously strengthened his country’s relations with China and Russia, while continuing his cooperation with Washington’s allies, including Japan and European countries, to maintain India’s diplomatic and strategic balance in the region.

After seven years of tense relations with China, he traveled to the port city of Tianjin to attend a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and met and had warm interactions with Chinese and Russian Presidents Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin.

Although Delhi has taken a cautious approach to strengthening relations with Beijing and Moscow, he has planned a trip to Japan to reduce the sensitivity of the trip to China. Modi also did not attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Plus meeting, which was attended by members and observers, and did not attend the parade commemorating the 80th anniversary of China’s victory over Japanese aggression.

Also, according to international experts’ analysis, perhaps fearing that Modi’s visit to China would be interpreted as opposition to the United States, New Delhi did not accept Moscow’s proposal to hold a trilateral meeting of “China, Russia, and India” or when the virtual BRICS meeting was held, only the Indian Foreign Minister was present to represent the country.

In fact, New Delhi is trying to expand its relations with US allies so that the “Indo-Pacific” strategy can be revived and Trump’s policies can be directed towards India’s desired direction again. In other words, India is still counting on relations with the Biden era; Modi had long invested in the United States, but now he cannot benefit from the preferential privileges he previously received from Washington.