Russia-India-China Trilateral Meet
Prime Minister Narendra Modi hosted a tri-lateral meeting with President Xi Jinping and President Vladimir Putin on the side-lines of the G20 Meeting in Osaka, Japan. The trilateral meeting of Russia, India and China (RIC) reveals the importance of India where it is being courted by both Russia and China who are facing tremendous pressure from the United States through sanctions against Russia and tariffs against China. While the immediate urgency to meet is driven by these facts, the RIC countries also have significant long-term interests–to uphold the current international system, which brings them together.
The engagement among the Foreign Ministers of the RIC countries has been happening since 2003 and the first RIC meeting of the Heads of State/Government was held way back in 2006. At that time the then Chinese President Hu Jintao, Russian President Vladimir Putin and the then Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh met after the conclusion of the G8 meeting in St. Petersburg, Russia.
The current interaction among Prime Minister Modi, President Xi and President Putin who met last in November 2018, show that these interactions have been taken to the next level. The three leaders are expected to meet again in September 2019 in Vladivostok (Russia) during the Eastern Economic Forum. These meetings underscore that there is a greater urgency among the RIC countries due to the rise of protectionism and unilateralism which has seriously affected the stability of the global landscape, dragged down world economic growth and exerted a negative impact on emerging-market and developing countries.
The other importance of these meetings is that they provide an opportunity for the three strong leaders to develop a better rapport and understanding among themselves and promote confidence building at the highest level of leadership. Such meetings are an opportunity to strengthen strategic communication through greater consultation on all matters of common interest.
The items addressed during the Osaka trilateral included challenges faced by global terrorism, deepening trade relations among the three countries, international hot-spots and climate change. At the current meeting Mr. Modi sought help from Mr. Xi and Mr. Putin in organising a global conference on terrorism. It is to be noted here that while there are several multilateral agreements which address the effects of terrorism activities there is no global convention which defines terrorism. The challenges posed by terrorism are also centrally addressed by the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) which has taken several steps in the fight against global terrorism. India hopes the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) would take necessary steps to see that Pakistan takes strong measures to curb terrorism. The FATF recently highlighted how the financial support to groups operating from Pakistan have contributed to global terrorism.
From the Chinese perspective, this meeting will increase the significance of Eurasia, while at the same time the trilateral will also have a positive impact on bilateral relations. The Chinese Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs Zhang Jun said that, “China’s relations with India and Russia are showing a sound momentum of growth, and the leaders of the three countries have also maintained close exchanges. It is important for the three countries to strengthen coordination of major global issues and jointly uphold multilateralism, oppose protectionism and deepen cooperation on multilateral and international affairs to make important contribution to global peace.”
From the Russian standpoint, the RIC helps it to expand its impact on world politics at a time when China has raced past Russia in all fronts and India is becoming a potential swing-state or balance in the nebulous global order. Here the obvious message is that both Russia and China would like India to work autonomously of the US in global geo-politics and geo-economics.
Finally, one should also note that the RIC meeting also coincided with the Japan, America and India (JAI) trilateral meeting which also took place in Osaka. This shows that such trilateral meets are part of India’s multi-alignment strategy to navigate the turbulence in world politics.
From the Chinese perspective, this meeting will increase the significance of Eurasia, while at the same time the trilateral will also have a positive impact on bilateral relations. The Chinese Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs Zhang Jun said that, “China’s relations with India and Russia are showing a sound momentum of growth, and the leaders of the three countries have also maintained close exchanges. It is important for the three countries to strengthen coordination of major global issues and jointly uphold multilateralism, oppose protectionism and deepen cooperation on multilateral and international affairs to make important contribution to global peace.”
From the Russian standpoint, the RIC helps it to expand its impact on world politics at a time when China has raced past Russia in all fronts and India is becoming a potential swing-state or balance in the nebulous global order. Here the obvious message is that both Russia and China would like India to work autonomously of the US in global geo-politics and geo-economics.
Finally, one should also note that the RIC meeting also coincided with the Japan, America and India (JAI) trilateral meeting which also took place in Osaka. This shows that such trilateral meets are part of India’s multi-alignment strategy to navigate the turbulence in world politics.
Script: Dr. Rajdeep Pakanati, Strategic Analyst on China
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