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Subject: Global Groupings and Conventions

Important International institutions, agencies and fora- their structure, mandate.

  • [pib] Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)

    On the occasion of 75th Anniversary of Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on 16th October 2020, PM has released a commemorative coin of Rs 75.

    Try this MCQ:

    Q.The FAO accords the status of ‘Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS)’ to traditional agricultural systems. What is the overall goal of this initiative?

    1. To provide modern technology, training in modern farming methods and financial support to local communities of identified GIAHS so as to greatly enhance their agricultural productivity.
    2. To identify and safeguard eco-friendly traditional farm practices and their associated landscapes, agricultural biodiversity and knowledge systems of the local communities.
    3. To provide Geographical Indication status to all the varieties of agricultural produce in such identified GIAHS Select the correct answer using the code given below:

    (a) 1 and 3 only

    (b) 2 only

    (c) 2 and 3 only

    (d) 1, 2 and 3

    About FAO

    • It is a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger and improve nutrition and food security.
    • It was founded in October 1945 and is headquartered in Rome.
    • It maintains regional and field offices around the world, operating in over 130 countries.
    • It also conducts research, provides technical assistance to projects, operates educational and training programs, and collects data on agricultural output, production, and development.
    • Composed of 197 member states, the FAO is governed by a biennial conference representing each member country and the European Union, which elects a 49-member executive council.
    • The Director-General serves as the chief administrative officer.

    India and FAO

    • India has had a historic association with FAO.
    • Indian Civil Service Officer Dr Binay Ranjan Sen was the Director-General of FAO during 1956-1967.
    • The World Food Programme, which has won the Nobel Peace Prize 2020, was established during his time.
    • India’s proposals for the International Year of Pulses in 2016 and the International Year of Millets 2023 have also been endorsed by FAO.

  • Pakistan likely to remain on FATF Greylist

    Pakistan is unlikely to exit the Financial Action Task Force (FATF’s) greylist with this plenary session as well.

    Practice question for mains:

    Q.What is FATF? Discuss its role in combating global financial crimes and terror financing.

    What is the FATF?

    • FATF is an intergovernmental organization founded in 1989 on the initiative of the G7 to develop policies to combat money laundering.
    • The FATF Secretariat is housed at the OECD headquarters in Paris.
    • It holds three Plenary meetings in the course of each of its 12-month rotating presidencies.

    Why is Pakistan under its scanner?

    • Pakistan has been under the FATF’s scanner since June 2018, when it was put on the Grey List for terror financing and money laundering risks.
    • FATF and its partners such as the Asia Pacific Group (APG) are reviewing Pakistan’s processes, systems, and weaknesses on the basis of a standard matrix for anti-money laundering (AML) and combating the financing of terrorism (CFT) regime.
    • In June 2018, Pakistan gave a high-level political commitment to work with the FATF and APG to strengthen its AML/CFT regime, and to address its strategic counter-terrorism financing-related deficiencies.
    • Pakistan and the FATF then agreed on the monitoring of 27 indicators under a 10-point action plan, with specific deadlines.
    • The understanding was that the successful implementation of the action plan, and its physical verification by the APG, would lead the FATF to move Pakistan out of the Grey List.
    • However, Islamabad managed to satisfy the global watchdog over just five of them.

    B2BASICS

    What are the Black List and Grey List of the FATF?

    FATF has 2 types of lists;

    1.  Black List

    2. Grey List

    1. Meaning of Black List: Only those countries are included in this list that FATF considers as uncooperative tax havens for terror funding. These countries are known as Non-Cooperative Countries or Territories (NCCTs). In other words; countries that are supporting terror funding and money laundering activities are placed in the Blacklist.

    The FATF blacklist or OECD blacklist has been issued by the Financial Action Task Force since 2000 and lists countries which it judges to be non-cooperative in the global fight against money laundering and terror funding.

    The FATF updates the blacklist regularly, adding or deleting entries.

    grey list 2018

    (This map shows the countries included in the Greylist)

    2. Meaning of Grey List: Those countries which are not considered as the safe heaven for supporting terror funding and money laundering; included in this list. The inclusion in this list is not as severe as blacklisted.

    Now Grey list is a warning given to the country that it might come in Black list (Just like a yellow card in a football match). If a country is unable to curb mushrooming of terror funding and money laundering; it is shifted from grey list to black list by the FATF.

     

  • Confusion on what the Quad is and its future

    The article analyses the basics of India’s foreign policy and its implications for the Quad.

    Context

    • There is confusion on what the Quad is and its future in India’s international relations.
    • Sustaining that confusion is the proposition that India is abandoning non-alignment in favour of a military alliance with the US in order to counter the China threat.

    4 Question on Quad’s future and India’s role

    1) What is the nature of alliance?

    • Alliances involve written commitments to come to the defence of the other against a third party.
    • Working of alliance varies according to the distribution of power within the members of an alliance and the changing nature of the external threat.
    • Alliances come in multiple shapes and forms — they could be bilateral or multilateral, formal or informal and for the long-term or near term.
    • Alliances feature in India’s ancient strategic wisdom and contemporary domestic politics in India.
    • Yet, when it comes to India’s foreign policy, alliances are seen as a taboo.
    • Part of the problem is that India’s image of alliances is frozen in the moment when India became independent.
    • After the Second World War, a newly independent India did not want to be tied down by alliances of the Cold War.
    • That notion is seen as central to Indian worldview.

    2) Does India forge alliances?

    • Contrary to conventional wisdom, India has experimented with alliances of different kinds.
    • During the First World War, some nationalists aligned with Imperial Germany to set up the first Indian government-in-exile in Kabul.
    • In the Second World War, Subhas Chandra Bose joined forces with Imperial Japan to set up a provisional government.
    • Policy of non-alignment among the great powers also did not rule out alliances in a different context.
    • For example, when Bhutan, Nepal and Sikkim turned to Delhi for protection amidst Maoist China’s advance into Tibet during 1949-50, Nehru signed security treaties with them.
    • India turned to the US for military support to cope with the Chinese aggression in 1962.
    • Indira Gandhi signed a security cooperation agreement with the Soviet Union in 1971 to cope with the crisis in East Pakistan.
    • Then, as now, there was much anxiety in Delhi about India abandoning non-alignment.
    • India does do alliances but the question is when, under what conditions and on what terms.

    3)  Is the US offering India an alliance against China?

    • The current political discourse in Washington is hostile to alliance-making.
    • President Donald Trump does not miss an opportunity to trash US alliances.
    • In any case, formal commitments do not always translate into reality during times of war.
    • Even within the long-standing US military alliances with Japan and the Philippines, there is much legal quibbling over what exactly is the US’s obligation against, say, Chinese aggression.
    • In case of the Quad, it is quite clear that Washington is not offering a military alliance, nor is Delhi asking for one.
    • Because it knows India has to fight its own wars.
    • Both countries, however, are interested in building issue-based coalitions in pursuit of shared interests.

    4) Instrumental nature of alliance

    • Agreements for security cooperation are made in a specific context and against a particular threat.
    • When those circumstances change, security treaties are not worth the paper they are written.
    • Consider India’s security treaties with Nepal, Bangladesh and Russia.
    • The 1950 Treaty was designed to protect Nepal against the Chinese threat.
    • Now, Nepali communists have long argued that the Treaty is a symbol of Indian hegemony.
    • India’s 1972 security treaty with Bangladesh did not survive the 1975 assassination of the nation’s founder, Mujibur Rahman.
    • India’s own enthusiasm for the 1971 treaty with Moscow waned within a decade.
    • Today Beijing is Moscow’s strongest international partner, a reality that has a bearing on India’s strategic partnership with Russia.

    What India can learn from China about alliances

    • Mao aligned with the Soviet Union after in 1949 and fought the Korean War against the US during 1950-53.
    • He broke from Russia in the early 1960s and moved closer to the US in the 1970s.
    • Mao, who denounced US alliances in Asia, was happy to justify them if they were directed at Russia.
    • He also welcomed Washington’s alliance with Tokyo as a useful means to prevent the return of Japanese nationalism and militarism.
    • Having benefited from the partnership with the US, China is trying to push America out of Asia and establish its own regional primacy.
    • Delhi could learn from Beijing in not letting the theological debates about alliances cloud its judgements about the extraordinary economic and security challenges India confronts today.

    Conclusion

    The infructuous obsession with non-alignment diverts Delhi’s policy attention away from the urgent task of rapidly expanding India’s national capabilities in partnership with like-minded partners.

  • UN and the retreat from multilateralism

    As the U.N. enters into 75th year of its existence, it faces several challenges. The article discusses such challenges.

    Challenges to the multilateralism

    1) Withdrawal of the main stakeholders: U.S. and the U.K.

    • The U.S. is withdrawing from multilateralism and so it the U.K.
    • Brexit has shown that nationalism remains strong in Europe.
    • Nevertheless, the most important development is the position of the U.S.
    • The U.S., which created the international system as we know today, is no longer willing to be its “guarantor of last resort”.
    • U.S. President Donald Trump stressed “America First” and suggested that others too should put their countries first.

    2) China’s reluctance

    • China has stepped in to take advantage of the West’s retreat from multilateralism.
    • But China is not embracing the idea of multilateralism.
    • China’s Belt and Road Initiative consists of a series of bilateral credit agreements with recipient countries with no mechanism for multilateral consultation or oversight.
    • The European Union’s and U.S.’s sanctions against Russia have driven it closer to China.
    • Work of the UN Security Council has been affected by the lack of consensus between its permanent members.

    3) Turkey’s interventions

    • Turkey has intervened in Syria, Libya, and the Eastern Mediterranean, which is a breach of international law.
    • The last was a reference to Turkey sending a drilling ship in Greek and Cypriot exclusive economic zones.
    • Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan made a detailed reference to the Jammu and Kashmir issue.
    • As Turkey has assumed the position of UN General Assembly President, statement and its actions matters.

    4) Paucity of resources

    • Over 40 UN political missions and peacekeeping operations engage 95,000 troops, police, and civil personnel. it suffers from a paucity of resources.
    • The UN peacekeeping budget, a little over $8 billion, is a small fraction of the $1.9 trillion military expenditure governments made in 2019.
    •  Most of the humanitarian assistance, developmental work, and budgets of the specialised agencies are based on voluntary contributions.
    • There are calls for increasing public-private partnerships. This is not a satisfactory arrangement.
    • The UN provides ‘public goods’ in terms of peace and development often in remote parts of the world.
    • There may not be enough appetite on the part of corporations. The UN remains an inter-governmental body.

    5) Climate action

    • President Trump mentioned that China’s emissions are nearly twice of those of the U.S.
    • Despite its withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, the U.S. has reduced its carbon emissions by more than any country in the world.
    • President Xi said that after peaking emissions by 2030, China will achieve carbon neutrality before 2060.
    • President Macron said that he was determined to see the EU agree on a target of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.

    Consider the question “As the world is facing the retreat from multilateralism, what are the challenges facing the U.N. in the current global order?”

    Conclusion

    What does the UN bring to the developing countries? It gives them greater political space. We need to support reform not only to expand the permanent members’ category of the Security Council but also to revitalise the role of the General Assembly. The retreat from multilateralism would undermine the UN’s capacity to face diverse challenges.

  • India joins Djibouti Code of Conduct

    India has joined the Djibouti Code of Conduct/ Jeddah Amendment (DCOC/JA) as Observer, following the high-level virtual meeting.

    Try this MCQ:

    Q.The Djibouti Code of Conduct is related to:

    (a) International trade in precious stones (b) Maritime Security (c) Data sharing on Terrorism related activities (d) Data Localization

    Djibouti Code of Conduct

    • DCOC/JA is a grouping on maritime matters comprising 18 member states adjoining the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, the East coast of Africa and Island countries in the IOR.
    • The DCOC, established in January 2009, is aimed at the repression of piracy and armed robbery against ships in the Western Indian Ocean Region, the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea.

    Provisions of the code

    • The Code provides a framework for capacity building in the Gulf of Aden and Western Indian Ocean to combat the threat of piracy.
    • It is a partnership of the willing and continues to both deliver against its aims as well as attract increasing membership.
    • The Code was signed on January 29 by the representatives of Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Maldives, Seychelles, Somalia, the United Republic of Tanzania and Yemen.
    • Since the meeting, further countries have signed bringing the total to 18 countries from the 21 eligible.

    Significance for India

    • India joins Japan, Norway, the UK and the US as Observers to the DCOC/JA.
    • As an Observer at the DCOC/JA, India looks forward to working together with DCOC/JA member states towards coordinating and contributing to enhanced maritime security in the Indian Ocean Region.
    • Delhi has been steadily increasing its strategic footprints in Western and Eastern Indian Ocean besides Eastern African coastal states.

  • Finding alternative to non-alignment

    The article analyses role of non-alignment in India’s foreign policy and India’s struggle to find the alternative to the non-alignment.

    Background

    • Non-alignment was a policy fashioned during the Cold War, to retain the autonomy of policy between two politico-military blocs.
    • The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) provided a platform for newly independent developing nations to join together to protect this autonomy.
    • NAM campaigned for de-colonisation, universal nuclear disarmament and against apartheid.
    • After the end of the Cold War, the NAM countries were able to diversify their network of relationships across the erstwhile east-west divide.

    Non-alignment and India’s foreign policy in the present context

    • For a few years now, non-alignment has not been projected by our policymakers as a tenet of India’s foreign policy.
    • India has not yet found a universally accepted alternative to the non-alignment yet.
    • “Strategic autonomy” as an alternative soon acquired a connotation similar to non-alignment, with an anti-U.S. tint.
    •  Multi-alignment has not found universal favour, since it may convey the impression of opportunism, whereas we seek strategic convergences.
    • Seeking issue-based partnerships or coalitions is a description that has not stuck.
    • “Advancing prosperity and influence” was a description External Affairs minister settled for, to describe the aspirations that our network of international partnerships seeks to further.

    Role of geography and politics

    • Two major imperatives flow from India’s geography-1) economic and security interests in the Indo-Pacific space. 2) the strategic importance of the continental landmass to its north and west.
    • The Indo-Pacific has inspired the Act East policy of bilateral and multilateral engagements in Southeast Asia and East Asia and the Pacific.
    • Shared India-U.S. interests in dealing with the challenge from China in the maritime domain have been a strategic underpinning of the bilateral partnership since the early 2000s.

    Issues in India’s engagement with the U.S.

    • In the immediate-term, Indian and U.S. perspectives are less convergent in India’s continental neighbourhood.
    • Connectivity and cooperation with Afghanistan and Central Asia need engagement with Iran and Russia, as well as with the Russia-China dynamics in the region.
    • Russia extends to the Eurasian landmass bordering India’s near and extended neighbourhood.
    • A close Russia-China partnership should move India to broad-base relations with Russia.
    • A strong stake in relations with India could reinforce Russia’s reluctance to be a junior partner of China.
    • As the U.S. confronts the challenge to its dominance from China, classical balance of power considerations would dictate accommodation with Russia.
    •  U.S. should see ties with India as a joint venture not an alliance in which they could pursue shared objectives to mutual benefit and accept that differences of perspectives will have to be addressed.
    • This template could have wider applicability for bilateral relations in today’s world order, which former could be described as militarily unipolar, economically multipolar and politically confused. 
    • The U.S. could acknowledge that India’s development of trade routes through Iran which could provide it route to Afghanistan and Central Asia, bypassing Pakistan and Russia, respectively.

    Consider the question “India has not been able to find an alternative to NAM which has been described as the basic tenet of India’s foreign policy. Discuss.”

    Conclusion

    India should find the alternative to the non-alignment which accommodate its interest in relations with the U.S. at the same time allow it “strategic autonomy”.

  • Financing economic recovery

    The article analyses the issue of socioeconomic disruption caused by the pandemic and response by regionally coordinated response to it.

    Context

    • With continued lockdown measures and restricted borders, countries in Asia and the Pacific have been experiencing sharp drops in foreign exchange inflows due to declines in export earnings, remittances, tourism and FDI.

    Financing 3 key areas by the U.N.

    • The United Nations is contributing through a global initiative, Financing for Development in the Era of COVID-19 and Beyond.
    • The initiative aims at comprehensive financing strategy to safeguard the Sustainable Development Goals.
    • Governments are united to ensure that adequate financial resources are available to steer an inclusive, sustainable and resilient post-COVID-19 recovery.
    • In the Asia-Pacific region, several countries have already adopted financing plans in following three key areas.
    • 1) To address the challenge of diminished fiscal space and debt vulnerability 2) To ensure sustainable recovery, consistent with the ambitions of the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda 3) To harness the potential of regional cooperation in support of financing for development.

    Regional Conversation series by ESCAP

    • The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) has recently launched its first-ever Regional Conversation Series on Building Back Better.
    • In this series ministers, decision-makers, private sectors and heads of international agencies participate.
    • Their participation results in sharing of collective insights on sharing pathways to resilient recovery from health pandemic and economic collapse.

    Debt Service Suspension initiative

    • To manage high levels of debt distress global initiatives like the Debt Service Suspension initiative is timely.
    • Central banks can continue to keep the balance of supporting the economy and maintaining financial stability.
    • This further involves enhancing tax reforms and improving debt management capacities, while using limited fiscal space to invest in priority sectors.
    • Exploring sustainability-oriented bonds and innovative financing instruments options such as debt swaps for SDG investment should be explored further.
    • Policy paradigm must mainstream affordable, accessible and green infrastructure standards.
    • We should also scale up the use of digital technology and innovative applications.
    • The financing support of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises must go hand in hand with these national job-rich recovery strategies.

    Role of regional cooperation

    • Regionally coordinated financing policies can restart trade, reorganise supply chains and revitalise sustainable tourism in a safe manner.
    • Across Asia and the Pacific, governments must pool financial resources to create regional investment funds.
    • Role of egional cooperation platforms to ensure  all countries receive an equitable number of doses of the vaccine is essential.

    Conclusion

    Through ESCAP, we can scale these efforts across the region, working closely with our member states, the private sector and innovators to build a collective financing response to mobilise the necessary additional resources.

  • BRICS Innovation Base for 5G and AI Technology

    China has made a proposal to create what it has termed a BRICS innovation base to take forward 5G and Artificial Intelligence (AI) cooperation.

    Try this question from CSP 2019:

    Q.With reference to communication technologies, what is/are the difference/differences between LTE (Long-Term Evolution) and VoLTE (Voice over Long-Term Evolution)?

    1. LTE ‘is commonly marketed as 3G and VoLTE is commonly marketed as advanced 3G.
    2. LTE is data-only technology and VoLTE is voice-only technology.

    Select the correct answer using the code given below.

    (a) 1 only

    (b) 2 only

    (c) Both 1 and 2

    (d) Neither 1 nor 2

    BRICS Innovation Base

    • China is considering the establishment of a BRICS innovation base in China, in order to strengthen practical cooperation with the BRICS.
    • It has urged fellow nations, including India, to boost cooperation in areas including 5G and AI in partnership with Huawei.
    • The move could pose an awkward question for India, which is the only country in the grouping that is leaning towards excluding Chinese participation in the roll-out of India’s 5G networks.

    Huawei in BRICS

    • In South Africa, Huawei is providing services to three of its telecom operators in the roll-out of their 5G networks.
    • Brazil has allowed participation in trials but yet to take a final call.
    • India is unlikely to allow Chinese participation in 5G, particularly in the wake of recent moves to tighten investment from China and national security concerns.

    Back2Basics: BRICS

    • BRICS is an acronym for the grouping of the world’s leading emerging economies, namely Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
    • The BRICS Leaders Summit is convened annually. It does not exist in form of organization, but it is an annual summit between the supreme leaders of five nations.
    • On November 30, 2001, Jim O’Neill, a British economist who was then chairman of Goldman Sachs Asset Management, coined the term ‘BRIC’ to describe the four emerging economies of Brazil, Russia, India, and China.
    • The grouping was formalized during the first meeting of BRIC Foreign Ministers on the margins of the UNGA in New York in September 2006.
    • The first BRIC Summit took place in 2009 in the Russian Federation and focused on issues such as reform of the global financial architecture.
    • South Africa was invited to join BRIC in December 2010, after which the group adopted the acronym BRICS.

  • Back in news: Financial Action Task Force (FATF)

    Ahead of the crucial FATF meetings in October, Indian agencies plan to highlight its inaction in the Pulwama, 26/11 Mumbai attack and Daniel Pearl murder cases.

    Practice question for mains:

    Q.What is FATF? Discuss its role in combating global financial crimes and terror financing.

    What is the FATF?

    • FATF is an intergovernmental organization founded in 1989 on the initiative of the G7 to develop policies to combat money laundering.
    • The FATF Secretariat is housed at the OECD headquarters in Paris.
    • It holds three Plenary meetings in the course of each of its 12-month rotating presidencies.

    Why is Pakistan under its scanner?

    • Pakistan has been under the FATF’s scanner since June 2018, when it was put on the Grey List for terror financing and money laundering risks.
    • FATF and its partners such as the Asia Pacific Group (APG) are reviewing Pakistan’s processes, systems, and weaknesses on the basis of a standard matrix for anti-money laundering (AML) and combating the financing of terrorism (CFT) regime.
    • In June 2018, Pakistan gave a high-level political commitment to work with the FATF and APG to strengthen its AML/CFT regime, and to address its strategic counter-terrorism financing-related deficiencies.
    • Pakistan and the FATF then agreed on the monitoring of 27 indicators under a 10-point action plan, with specific deadlines.
    • The understanding was that the successful implementation of the action plan, and its physical verification by the APG, would lead the FATF to move Pakistan out of the Grey List.
    • However, Islamabad managed to satisfy the global watchdog over just five of them.

  • Russia-India-China: A triangle that is still relevant

    RIC engagement started on the promising note but the geopolitical changes over the last two decades have set the three countries on diverging paths. It is against this backdrop, the article articulates why RIC is still relevant.

    Background of RIC

    • The RIC dialogue commenced in the early 2000s.
    • At that time the three countries were positioning themselves for a transition from a unipolar to a multipolar world order.
    •  It was not an anti-U.S. construct though.
    • The initial years of the RIC dialogue coincided with an upswing in India’s relations with Russia and China.
    • The 2003 decision to bring a political approach to India-China boundary dispute and to develop other cooperation, encouraged a multi-sectoral surge in relations.
    • An agreement in 2005, identifying political parameters applicable in an eventual border settlement, implicitly recognised India’s interests in Arunachal Pradesh.

    Growing India-U.S. relations

    • During the same period in which RIC dialogues took place, India’s relations with the U.S. surged.
    • This involved trade and investment, a landmark civil nuclear deal and a burgeoning defence relationship.
    • This rising relations with the U.S. met India’s objective of diversifying military acquisitions away from a near-total dependence on Russia.
    • The U.S. saw value in partnering with a democratic India in Asia as China was rapidly emerging as a challenger.

    How India-U.S. relations affected RIC

    • China went back on the 2005 agreement.
    • It launched the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and worked to undermine India’s influence in its neighbourhood.
    • And expanded its military and economic presence in the Indian Ocean.
    • As U.S.-Russia relations imploded in 2014 after the annexation/accession of Crimea.
    • Russia’s pushback against the U.S. included cultivating the Taliban in Afghanistan and enlisting Pakistan’s support for it.
    • The western campaign to isolate Russia drove it into a much closer embrace of China.

    Thus, the RIC claim of overlapping or similar approaches to key international issues, sounds hollow today. But it is still holds significance.

    Why RIC is still significant for India

    1) SCO

    • Central Asia is strategically located, bordering our turbulent neighbourhood.
    •  Pakistan’s membership of SCO and the potential admission of Iran and Afghanistan heighten the significance of the SCO for India.
    • It is important for India to shape the Russia-China dynamics in this region, to the extent possible.
    • The Central Asian countries have signalled they would welcome such a dilution of the Russia-China duopoly.
    • The ongoing India-Iran-Russia is an important initiative for achieving an effective Indian presence in Central Asia, alongside Russia and China.

    2) Significant bilateral relations

    • India’s defence and energy pillars of partnership with Russia remain strong.
    • Access to Russia’s abundant natural resources can enhance our materials security.
    • With China too, while the recent developments should accelerate our efforts to bridge the bilateral asymmetries, disengagement is not an option.

    3) The Indo-Pacific issue

    • For India, it is a geographic space of economic and security importance, in which a cooperative order should prevent the dominance of any external power.
    • China sees our Indo-Pacific initiatives as part of a U.S.-led policy of containing China.
    • Russia’s Foreign Ministry sees the Indo-Pacific as an American ploy to draw India and Japan into a military alliance against China and Russia.
    • India should focus on economic links with the Russian Far East and the activation of a Chennai-Vladivostok maritime corridor.
    • This may help persuade Russia that its interests in the Pacific are compatible with our interest in diluting Chinese dominance in the Indo-Pacific.

    4) Strategic autonomy of India

    • The current India-China stand-off has intensified calls for India to fast-track partnership with the U.S.
    • National security cannot be fully outsourced.
    • India’s quest for autonomy of action is based on its geographical realities, historical legacies and global ambitions.

    Consider the question “The changing geopolitical landscape should not dampen the importance of India’s engagement in the RIC (Russia-India-China) triangle. Comment.” 

    Conclusion

    India should continue its engagement in the RIC while keeping and protecting its interests.