Why we should thank minister Jaishankar for saving India from embarrassment

India’s persistent refusal to condemn Russia’s ‘special military operation’ against Ukraine that began in the last week of February was hard to stomach for the Western powers. US Deputy National Security Advisor for International Economic Affairs Dalip Singh, when he visited India in April this year, issued a barely diplomatic warning to New Delhi in case China yet again violates the Line of Actual Control. should not expect Russia to help him. ,

What he had left unsaid spoke out loud. India had benefited from America’s signal intelligence during the Galvan standoff and subsequent tension on the LAC. The tone was unmistakable: Refusal to toe the line on Ukraine could threaten such valuable cooperation from the West. New Delhi has chosen to be the big party, and ignores these defiances, not only continuing to refuse to condemn Russia but also importing ever-increasing quantities of crude oil and coal from Russia.

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Even as sanctions were imposed on Russia by the West, India decided to increase its trade with that country. India’s crude oil imports from Russia increased by 286%, while coal imports increased by over 345% in the January-April 2022 period. A report states that in April 2022, about 7.5% of India’s fuel needs (crude oil, coal, natural gas, etc.) were to be sourced from Russia, compared to 2% or less in the past several years. Since then, Russia has replaced Iraq as India’s top supplier of crude oil.

India is an old leader of those countries which explain the causes of the third world. So, when many African countries also refused to take sides against Russia, the West had all the more reason to bemoan India’s stand. Although no one accused India of leading a pro-Russia bloc with China, the hostility towards India’s stand in the Western media was palpable. More soft-spoken commentators have downplayed India’s reliance on Russia for arms, ammunition and spares.

India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar never entered into the moral discourse that NATO allies tried to create over the Ukraine debate. Nor did Jaishankar take note of India’s history of cordial relations with Moscow. It is India’s diplomatic success that our outward expression speaks in defense of India’s position that India needs to protect its 1.4 billion people from the vagaries of high oil prices, not sentiment or morality.

India improved its position in the United Nations by voting against Russia on a Russian proposal for a secret ballot on Ukraine and two, on allowing Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky to address the UN. India has been calling for a negotiated end to hostilities in Ukraine and has opposed any use of nuclear weapons – although the threat of using nuclear weapons was a media construct that interpreted Russian President Vladimir Putin’s statement Russia has the ability to punish Ukraine. The way the world never saw the meaning of a nuclear attack was the Russian leader’s open threat to attack Ukraine.

Today, there is growing acceptance of India’s position that it will take a position in the best interest of its people, regardless of external expectations about India’s conduct. Recently, US Chargé d’Affaires in New Delhi Elizabeth Jones said that the US understands India’s reasons for its stand on Russia with regard to Ukraine. German Foreign Minister Annalena Bierbock, who is currently on a visit to India, said Germany understands India’s stand on oil imports from Russia and the reasons for its opposition to a price cap on Russian crude.

Now, a country’s stance on external affairs is rooted in domestic politics and is ultimately decided by the political leadership. Once the basic stance is defined, it is up to the External Affairs Minister and her team in the ministry to articulate its implications and nuances in a way that matters to the world as well as domestic audience.

It is not possible or necessary for the Prime Minister or his colleagues to directly articulate the core concerns of the nation. Such a course may create unnecessary friction. Therefore, neither Jaishankar nor the PM say that India understands that the West needs India to build itself up as a powerful counterweight to China, and that New Delhi is using this factor to its advantage. while obtaining mixed concessions from the West which sees China as China. Growing strategic rival. India understands but does not articulate China’s need to continue to position Russia as a strategic node of power, so as not to become the sole focus of US hostile attention. New Delhi also understands but does not roar about Russia’s desire to see China’s rise moderated, so as not to lose Moscow’s strategic prominence in the world. It is in the interest of India. This is why Russia will sell India its most sophisticated missile defense system, the S400, and India will buy it against the wishes of the West.

New Delhi’s strategy of remaining non-aligned and using the dynamics of relations among the world’s major powers to preserve and strengthen its strategic autonomy dates back to Nehru’s time, when the major power centers were Washington DC and Moscow. Were. After the collapse of the Soviet Union and in an era of apparent unipolarity of military power and increasing multipolarity of economic power, India’s political leadership has pursued India’s core policy of strengthening strategic autonomy to meet the requirements of emerging global power dynamics. reorganized.

It has progressed to the present stage. A rising tide lifts all boats, but it’s only when the tide goes out that you might discover that everyone was swimming naked, Warren Buffett is fond of saying. The Ukraine war has turned the tide, leaving many exposed. New Delhi, however, maintains its dignity. We must thank External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his team at Mantralaya for saving India from embarrassment.

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