The trilateral summit meeting of Russia, India and China on the sidelines of the G20 at Buenos Aires on December 1 becomes a landmark event in Asian security and global politics. The so-called RIC format has taken a big leap forward with the leaderships of the three countries agreeing “to hold further such trilateral meetings on multilateral occasions” – to quote from an Indian External Affairs Ministry statement.
What is of particular interest is that Russian President Vladimir Putin took the initiative and both Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese Presdient Xi Jinping instinctively warmed up to the idea. The three leaders were intensely conscious of the backdrop in which the meeting took place.
They referred to the imperatives of cooperation and coordination between their countries in meeting the challenges to security and development. Promotion of the multilateral system, the democratization of the international order and world peace and stability was repeatedly stressed.
Significantly, Prime Minister Modi’s remarks were most emphatic and specific. Modi noted that the meeting provided “an opportunity to freely and openly discuss some key matters that cause concern on the global level.” He added,
“Your Excellencies, without a doubt, the world today is going through a period of serious change, instability and growing geopolitical tensions. There is serious pressure being exerted on the global leadership. Multilateral relations and the world order based on common rules are being increasingly rejected by various unilateral, transnational and local groups, and different nations around the world. We can see this happening as sanctions are imposed outside the UN mandate and protectionist policies are gaining strength.”
“The Doha Development Agenda within the WTO has failed. Since the Paris Agreement, we have not seen the expected level of financial commitment on behalf of the developed countries in favour of the developing states. Therefore, when it comes to climate, justice is currently at risk. We are still very far from achieving the goals of sustainable development.”
Modi’s thinly veiled criticism of the US policies will be noted. All three leaders underscored that Russia, India and China have an important leadership role in the present international milieu and acknowledged the need to strengthen the RIC trilateral cooperation mechanism.
The RIC summit at Buenos Aires can be seen as the logical evolution of the shifts taking place in the geopolitics of the Asia-Pacific region in the recent period. Despite robust American efforts, the countries of the region refrain from identifying with the Trump administration’s strident moves against China. Simply put, they don’t want to get entangled with the erratic, unpredictable US policies.
On the other hand, the US’ capacity to dominate China militarily is progressively diminishing and the latter is expanding its influence into southeast Asia and western Pacific, which used to be exclusive American “sphere of influence”. The Trump administration’s America First project has put off Asian countries such as India, which seek a relationship with the US based on mutual respect and mutual benefit.
India’s calibrated distancing from the US’ containment policies against China were articulated with great clarity at Modi in a major speech at the Shangri La Dialogue in Singapore on June 1 where he sought an inclusive approach to the Asia-Pacific security.
Conceivably, Putin seized the moment to connect the dots by initiating the proposal on the RIC format at summit level. This was an idea that was originally mooted in 1998 by the great Russian strategic thinker and then Foreign Minister Evgeniy Primakov but it was ahead of its time. Two decades later, it is apparent that the RIC need not necessarily impose constraints on China and/or India’s independent and non-bloc policies.
As time passes, the RIC summit format is destined to shape up as a major template of regional and international security and global development. A high degree of personal rapport already exists between and amongst Putin, Modi and Xi. One striking thing about the RIC summit is the strategic congruence in the Russian, Indian and Chinese statements.
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