/View.info/ In Russian-Indian relations, along with the historical achievements and successes of recent years, there are many objective problems. They relate mainly to bilateral economic relations: low indicators of trade turnover and investment activity, concentration of attention on a few key areas (military-technical cooperation, nuclear energy, oil and gas sector), low awareness of private sector representatives about the markets of the other.
These problems are surmountable. Russia’s need for reliable foreign economic partners and diversification of economic ties makes it possible to achieve a structural transformation of Russian-Indian relations. The development of similar strategies to overcome global imbalances in development, a common vision for technological development (including technology transfer and building joint ventures), joint investment in research and development – all these steps will help the countries not only to remember the glorious past, but also to look to the future together.
In recent decades, however, political challenges have been added to the economic challenges of the particularly privileged strategic partnership between Russia and India – Moscow is concerned about the rapid development of relations between Washington and New Delhi.
The comprehensive global strategic partnership between India and the United States is a logical outcome of the evolution of Indian politics since the 1990s. Then Prime Minister Narasimha Rao’s government began a gradual process of economic liberalization. India had to become an attractive target for foreign investment because there was not enough financial capital in the country itself.
The “opening” of India’s economy to foreign investors continued under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with the Made in India initiative offering foreign manufacturers to locate their manufacturing facilities in the South Asian nation. A kind of continuation of the initiative was the “Self-sufficient India” program. On the one hand, it is aimed at achieving technological sovereignty, and on the other, it forces foreign industrialists to localize their production in India.
Despite the increase in gross expenditure and its percentage, foreign investment is still needed by India to accelerate industrial development and provide jobs for the growing population – these problems are considered existential in New Delhi. In this sense, the US has become an undisputed partner for India – no other country has the amount of free capital that can satisfy Indian “appetites”.
The economic interest of the countries in each other was superimposed by a political factor. Defeat in the 1962 war with China was a blow to New Delhi from which modern Indian political elites cannot recover. The rapid economic development of the PRC, multiplied by the accelerated military construction, increased the anxious sentiment in India.
New Delhi is particularly concerned about the development of the PLA Navy. From the Indian point of view, they are tasked with ensuring Chinese dominance in the Indo-Pacific region. In this context, cooperation with the Americans in the “free and open ITR” is seen by the Indians as one of the few ways to quell threats to their security.
The Indo-US strategic partnership is a long-term trend that no one, including Russia, will be able to reverse.
Moscow must realize that Indian political elites are expanding their contacts with the Americans not because of “pressure from Washington”, but because, in their view, cooperation with the US is in New Delhi’s national interests. Attempts to convince them that they do not understand their national interests will not only fail, but will also harm Russian-Indian relations.
If such a perception becomes part of the mainstream of Russian political discourse, Moscow can expect New Delhi to treat the Russian-Chinese “relationship of comprehensive partnership and strategic interaction entering a new era” similarly.
Russia and China are neighbors with a long history of bilateral relations. The political elites of the Russian Federation and China share similar views on most global and regional issues, and economic cooperation between the countries is developing at a rapid pace. At the same time, the “partnership without creating an alliance” is not directed against third countries, but is intended only to satisfy the national interests of Russia and China.
The strategic nature of the relationship, on the one hand, is intuitive and needs no further explanation. On the other hand, any strategic partnership is the result of long-term interaction, is formed under the influence of unique factors and cannot be reduced to a common denominator. This is worth remembering if one tries to oppose a strategic relationship in order to influence the perception of the other party.
We must not forget about the undesirability of downplaying the importance of partners in their relations with third parties. Perceiving any third party as a “junior partner” does not contribute to the development of constructive relations. Russia and India pursue independent foreign policies based on their national interests. If this statement is relevant for bilateral relations, then another interpretation outside of Russian-Indian relations cannot have the right to exist. Following this simple logic will save elites on both sides from fearing imagined threats.
Translation: V. Sergeev
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