By: Simran Sodhi, Guest Author, GSDN
There has been a lot of debate within India of late about how relevant are multilateral institutions like BRICS and SCO today in a changing world, and also how the recent Summits of both these Forums, failed to take India’s interests on board. There are some who have even argued that maybe it is time for India to exit BRICS and SCO as they seem more driven by China and hence also provide a shield to its ally Pakistan, which does not align well for India.
So, for starters, let’s take a quick look at what happened in the recent BRICS and SCO Summits. At the 17th Summit of BRICS held recently, the leaders of the BRICS nations adopted the “Rio de Janeiro Declaration” hosted by Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. India is also a signatory to this declaration and Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the Summit. This year however both the Russian and Chinese Presidents skipped the Summit which also dampened the significance of the gathering.
The Rio Declaration condemned the April 22 terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir, denounced cross-border terrorism, but avoided directly criticising Pakistan for promoting and exporting the terrorism. So that is certainly not something that made India happy. It is also important to note here that Pakistan is not a member of BRICS but its all-weather friend China is.
At the recently held Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meet in Qingdao in China, which was attended by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, India declined to sign the joint communiqué that was to be issued at the end of the meeting. India was obviously unhappy with the draft joint statement which noted the SCO’s concerns over the situation in Baluchistan in Pakistan, but was silent on the terrorist attack in J&K of India. The SCO as of today has India, Pakistan, China, Russia, Iran, Tajikistan, Kyrgyz Republic, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan as its members States.
As a result, what we have in India is a great deal of chatter of one: how useful are these multilateral forums for India today and two: if India should just walk out of these Forums. I would argue that India should not leave any of these multilateral forums, BRICS, SCO and other such groupings where China is perhaps today able to pursue its agenda more effectively. My logic is that while the recent BRICS and SCO Summit have a harsh lesson in store for India, these forums still have a great deal of use for India on the global stage.
India needs to recognise that what has happened in the recent BRICS and SCO Summits is somewhere reflective of the changing world equations. With Donald Trump as the United States President, we have a world and a world order that is being tested and changed almost every day. China, which is today the world’s largest manufacturer, is flexing its muscles on the global stage. China is also in a position today to challenge the US hegemony and role in global politics. India must accept that it has to now tweak its foreign policy and its agenda in multilateral forums like BRICS and SCO to incorporate these new equations and still make it work for India.
As far as Pakistan is concerned, and Operation Sindoor has also helped establish that, China today is firmly behind it. The kind of logistical support that China provided Pakistan in Operation Sindoor goes to prove that Pakistan today is a military asset to China, and hence India should be ready to see an opposition to its attempts to expose Pakistan, being blocked by China.
There can be no denying that BRICS, SCO, as is the case with other multilateral institutions, are full of internal differences. But it will serve India little to walk away. India has to argue its case while simultaneously carving its destiny as an aspirant global power. India needs to work more with the US and Forums like Quad (India, US, Japan and Australia) which at their core aim to keep China in check. Here also, with President Trump’s erratic decision-making habits, Quad will not be a smooth ride for India.
As India counters a growing and aggressive China in the region and globally, and attempts to walk in coordination with the US, the challenges at various multilateral forums will likely grow with time. What India needs at this point is an internal reset, a re-evaluation of how it plans to counter these challenges. Merely walking out of Forums that disappoint one is the easy solution; the real test of diplomacy would be to stay put and manoeuvre India’s interest in a rapidly evolving world order.
About the Author
Simran Sodhi is a Delhi-based journalist and foreign affairs analyst. She holds a Masters in International Relations from the American University in Washington DC. In 2009, her book ‘Piercing the Heart- Untold Stories of 26/11’ was published. She has written for a number of leading national and international publications. She tweets at @Simransodhi9
