Beijing/Moscow: After the new Russian foreign policy concept highlighted strengthening and deepening relations with China and India as Moscow’s diplomatic priority, China today said Beijing was ready to strengthen communication with New Delhi.
Acknowledging India as a “major emerging country” along with China and Russia, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told reporters here today that all three countries today are “notable influence”. She added: “As the international and regional landscape is facing profound and complex changes, we are ready to strengthen communication with the international community including Russia and India and send a positive signal to the world about defending true multilateralism and jointly responding to global challenges.”
On March 31, 2023, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed an Executive Order approving Russia’s new Foreign Policy Concept. Significantly it aims at strengthening the comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation with China and continuing to build up a “particularly privileged” strategic partnership with India.
In a section titled “Eurasian Continent – The People’s Republic of China, the Republic of India”, Russia’s new Foreign Policy Concept paper stated, “Russia will continue to build up a particularly privileged strategic partnership with the Republic of India with a view to enhance and expand cooperation in all areas on a mutually beneficial basis and place special emphasis on increasing the volume of bilateral trade, strengthening investment and technological ties, and ensuring their resistance to destructive actions of unfriendly states and their alliances”.
Russia further stated that for the establishment of equitable and sustainable world order, it was crucial to enhance the capacity and international role of the interstate association of BRICS, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), the RIC (Russia, India, China) and other interstate associations and international organizations, as well as mechanisms with strong Russian participation.
China today responded by saying it was ready to work with Russia “and all relevant countries” to further enhance cooperation, coordination and communication under multilateral frameworks such as the SCO and BRICS and make a “contribution to regional and global peace, stability, prosperity and development”.
Interestingly, the day Russia announced its new foreign policy concept document which gave much relevance to its ties with India and China, the United States Permanent Representative to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Ambassador Julianne Smith, in a special online media briefing from London referred to the NATO secretary general who “frequently notes that with global strength also comes global responsibilities, and India certainly plays a crucial role in ensuring a free and open region that’s connected, that’s prosperous, secure, and resilient as well”.
Responding to Russia’s vision of continue building a privileged strategic partnership with India, Smith referred to India’s humanitarian assistance to the people of Ukraine and said what was important was the calls coming from India for some sort of an immediate end to the war in Ukraine. She said the US and NATO were in “continuous communication” with India about what more they could do together to hold Russia accountable. “Although we do not always – we the United States and India – do not always share exactly the same policy approaches, we do share a commitment to upholding the rules-based order and ensuring that the key principles of the UN Charter, particularly as they relate to sovereignty and territorial integrity, that those principles are respected and defended. So I think that’s the most important part of our relationship, how U.S. and India can come together to defend the UN Charter and work together to call out Russia to end this war as soon as possible,” she said.
Incidentally, the new foreign policy concept document identifies “unfriendly actions of the West” as the provocation to Russia to use “all means available” to defend its right to existence and freedom of development.
“Considering the strengthening of Russia as one of the leading centres of development in the modern world and its independent foreign policy as a threat to Western hegemony, the United States of America (USA) and their satellites used the measures taken by the Russian Federation as regards Ukraine to protect its vital interests as a pretext to aggravate the longstanding anti-Russian policy and unleashed a new type of hybrid war. It is aimed at weakening Russia in every possible way, including at undermining its constructive civilizational role, power, economic and technological capabilities, limiting its sovereignty in foreign and domestic policy, violating its territorial integrity,” the new policy concept said. It added: “This Western policy has become comprehensive and is now enshrined at the doctrinal level. This was not the choice of the Russian Federation. Russia does not consider itself to be an enemy of the West, is not isolating itself from the West and has no hostile intentions with regard to it…”
– global bihari bureau
