Pragmatic diplomacy

India has defended its position effectively

The dialogue between US President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday signalled a significant shift in the tenor of Indo-US relations within the context of the Russia-Ukraine crisis and the wider geopolitical interests of both countries. With differences sharpening in the past month and a half over the US’s and India’s position vis-à-vis Russia, Monday’s meeting suggested that both countries had essentially agreed to disagree on this head but move ahead with the broader agenda of scientific and business cooperation and, not least, a common stand against Chinese aggression. This marks a substantial ratcheting down of diplomatic hostilities over India declining to support the US-Nato opposition to the Russian invasion and abstaining from 10 UN resolutions on the conflict in the United Nations, including one introduced by Russia. Last month, a deputy national security advisor threatened “consequences” if India were to buy Russian oil.

This is the second time Mr Biden and Mr Modi have met virtually since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began on February 24. The first was a meeting on March 3 of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, including the leaders of Japan and Australia, to discuss humanitarian assistance in the Indo-Pacific and the impact of the Ukraine crisis in the region. At that time, the deep divisions were clear with a leaked US state department cable — later retracted as an “error” — placing India in “the Russian camp” on account of its abstentions in the UN.

New Delhi has held a consistent line in terms of urging peaceful engagement and dialogue between Russia and Ukraine. To this end, Mr Modi has spoken to both Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin and criticised Russia for closing the diplomatic option in its differences with Ukraine. Mr Modi’s reference to the human rights atrocities in Bucha during his meeting with Mr Biden also suggests an attempt to seek middle ground with the US. This shift in stance by the US may well have been the result of a realistic appreciation of the strategic role that India and its navy play in limiting Chinese dominance in the Indian Ocean. The fact that China has also extended an outreach to India, soliciting Mr Modi’s presence at the BRICs Summit that Beijing will host later this year, attests to India’s strategic importance in maintaining the Asian balance of power.

The tone of the White House readout of Monday’s virtual meeting with Mr Biden, which included the foreign and defence ministers of both countries, offers a vindication of the calibrated diplomacy India has exercised since the Ukraine-Russia crisis, balancing a uniquely challenging geopolitical situation with its national interests. Russia has been a close ally from Soviet times and at least two-thirds of Indian defence materiel is of Russian/Soviet origin, which leaves New Delhi dependent on Moscow for the supply of vital spare parts and upgrades at a time when tensions with China have ratcheted up along the Line of Actual Control. By pacing its discussions over rupee-ruble trade in the face of Western sanctions on Russia, the government has displayed pragmatism, which will stand it in good stead in the long run.