A long-drawn test for India’s diplomatic skills

Source: The post is based on the article “A long-drawn test for India’s diplomatic skills” published in The Hindu on 19^th May 2023.

Syllabus: GS 2 – Regional & Global Groupings

Relevance: India’s position at various multilateral groupings and challenges associated with it

News: India is going to attend various multilateral organizations meetings in the coming months.

What are the upcoming multilateral meetings which India will be part of?

1. a) Indian PM and other Quad leaders are expected to meet G7 countries in May, b) PM will visit the US in June, c) India will host the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in July, d) PM will then attend the BRICS summit in South Africa in August and e) India will host the G20 summit in September.

Therefore, there are many multilateral meetings on the list of India to attend, which shows that India is keen to get involved with the different global groupings.

It will also be a chance for India to showcase its diplomatic skills in maintaining the balance in its relations with various countries.

How is India trying to maintain balance?

India has maintained a sweet spot without following the Indonesian President to visit Ukraine nor has it invited Ukraine’s Foreign Minister in the G20 meeting.

Further, India hosting SCO and G20 shows India’s content to strike balance between the global order in the wake of war and changing geopolitical scenario.

India is also setting examples for many countries in South East Asia and the Global South by maintaining this balance.

For example, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey and Israel are managing their ties with the West without joining its stand on Ukraine or sanctions.

Further, the France President has reiterated on the Strategic Autonomy after his visit to China this year. This strategic autonomy has benefited India to maintain its relations with the countries of its interests.

What are the challenges for India in maintaining this balance?

1. a) Unexpected victory of Ukraine over Russia may force India to reexamine its relations with Russia, b) attacks by China across any part of the Line of Actual Control would make India to rethink on its strategies, c) India would also be forced to rethink if Russia escalates its stand on payment issues or withhold supplies of defence hardware to India under pressure from China, d) threats remain over imposition of unilateral sanctions by the West for buying Russian oil or sanctions under Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act-Related Sanctions (CAATSA) for acquisition of the Russian S-400 missile systems.

What can be the way ahead for India?

An important task with India ahead is to ensure China and Russia come to a consensus on a joint declaration at the G-20 summit in September.

This is because the G7 countries have always been in favour of excluding these two countries from the group.

Therefore, for India to get success in maintaining the balance with the nations, it has to show its diplomatic skills in making a consensus between the two nations.