On 4 January 2024, Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar reiterated that although his country is non-Western and a member of BRICS, it is not ‘anti-Western’ and the West is a critical partner in sectors ranging from investments to mobility. Jaishankar said, ‘BRICS is a very comprehensive/diverse grouping. India is not Western, but it is not anti-Western either.’[i]
It is worth recalling that Jaishankar recently visited Moscow and tried to strengthen economic and defence ties between the two countries. This year’s BRICS meetings will be hosted by Russia. In this context, India-Russia rapprochement is expected to increase.
Despite this multimodal foreign policy opening, India continues to interact with the West. In 2023, the United States of America (USA) accelerated its 2+2 format talks with India, consisting of defence and economic pillars. At this point, following increasing security threats, especially in the Red Sea, the US invited India to join the multinational naval coalition in these seas.[ii]
This coalition, controlled by the British Navy, aims to ensure maritime security and protect global shipping routes increasingly targeted by Houthi attacks. US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said that the naval coalition would include the United Kingdom, Bahrain, Canada, France, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, the Seychelles and Spain.
India is committed to regular participation in freedom of navigation protection missions and exercises, especially in the near seas. However, participation in the international naval coalition in the Red Sea may mean a change in India’s role in the global system. This is because these coalition countries are actors that are generally considered close to the Western World. India, on the other hand, does not position itself within the Western axis. However, the US is putting pressure on India in this direction.
India’s maritime security operations are not limited to the Indian Ocean, but have also begun to expand into the Pacific in recent years. At the same time, however, India has refrained from moving closer to China’s near seas and has generally refused to conduct joint exercises with the US and its allies in the South and East China Sea. This is because India does not want to provoke Beijing by engaging in military activities close to China.
In general, India is careful to take part only in exercises in the near seas, i.e. in the Indian Ocean, and in manoeuvres in the far seas, i.e. in the Pacific or Oceania. As another example, India participated in Russia’s Vostok-2022 exercises with China, but not in the naval episodes in the Sea of Japan.
‘We welcome other countries, including India, to join us in defending freedom of navigation in the region’s vital waterways, including participation in Operation Welfare Guard,’ the US Department of Defence said in a statement following the escalation of the crisis in the Red Sea.[iii] This call can also be interpreted as an attempt by the US to draw India into the Western coalition. However, New Delhi can be expected to take part neither in the Moscow-Beijing axis nor in the Washington-London alliance. Trying to observe the balances between these two axes, India tries not to be a part of the polarisation in the global system. In its policies, New Delhi wants BRICS to remain as diverse and comprehensive a platform as possible.
It can be said that India is the most important actor preventing BRICS from turning into an ‘anti-Western’ coalition. However, there are two major powers that want to lead the transformation process of this platform. These are Russia and China. India, on the other hand, is endeavouring to influence the expansion process of BRICS by taking an active role in the selection process of new members and in this sense, to convince Russia and China on certain issues. It can be said that especially Russia and China do not want to include a ‘pro-Western’ actor in this platform. It can be claimed that India has a more optimistic attitude in this regard. Although it is not a Western actor, India, as a democratic country, can actually establish close co-operation with the Western World. Therefore, it can be said that New Delhi supports the inclusion of both democratic states like itself and other developing countries of the Global South in BRICS.
In conclusion, it can be argued that India is finding it very difficult to maintain its balancing role in the global system. New Delhi may eventually have to abandon this mission and make an axis choice as the crises in the world escalate and it moves closer to the Asia-Pacific. After 60 years, the last thing India would want would be to revert to a major confrontational policy with China
It can be said that India is the most important actor preventing BRICS from turning into an ‘anti-Western’ coalition. However, there are two major powers that want to lead the transformation process of this platform. These are Russia and China. India, on the other hand, is endeavouring to influence the expansion process of BRICS by taking an active role in the selection process of new members and in this sense, to convince Russia and China on certain issues. It can be said that especially Russia and China do not want to include a ‘pro-Western’ actor in this platform. It can be claimed that India has a more optimistic attitude in this regard. Although it is not a Western actor, India, as a democratic country, can actually establish close co-operation with the Western World. Therefore, it can be said that New Delhi supports the inclusion of both democratic states like itself and other developing countries of the Global South in BRICS.
In conclusion, it can be argued that India is finding it very difficult to maintain its balancing role in the global system. New Delhi may eventually have to abandon this mission and make an axis choice as the crises in the world escalate and it moves closer to the Asia-Pacific. After 60 years, the last thing India would want would be to revert to a major confrontational policy with China.
[i] “India is non-West but Not Anti-West: Jaishankar”, Economic Times, https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/india/india-is-non-west-but-not-anti-west-jaishankar/articleshow/106531511.cms?from=mdr, (Access Date: 10.08.2024).
[ii] “US Invites India to Join Naval Coalition in Red Sea”, Livemint, https://www.livemint.com/news/world/us-invites-india-to-join-naval-coalition-in-red-sea-11704356854836.html, (Access Date: 10.08.2024).
[iii] Ibid.
