For PM Narendra Modi, An Unwarranted Advice From China On His Russia Visit

Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s two-day visit to Moscow, a senior Chinese official indicated Beijing’s discomfort over India’s diplomatic relations with Russia and the US, urging New Delhi to follow its independent foreign policy and not be a “puppet” of Washington. The remark by Victor Gao, Vice President of the Centre for China and Globalisation, came ahead of PM Modi’s first visit to Russia since its war with Ukraine began in February 2022.

“Modi’s upcoming visit to Russia should not be viewed by some Western countries as a surprising move. Rather than building itself as a puppet of the US, following its independent foreign policy will be the best choice for India,” Victor Gao said in an interview to Chinese mouthpiece Global Times.

The unwarranted remark from the Chinese official came despite India maintaining a firm line on its relationship with with Russia while sustaining ties with other major powers of the world including the US and Europe.

“We have always maintained that the Russia relationship is a very important one. I said in public even before my meeting with President (Vladimir) Putin that we value this relationship. It is a relationship that served India well,” External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said in January.

Earlier, India drew flak from the US for not joining its clamour against Russia “special military operations” in Ukraine. At the time, Jaishankar had made it clear that New Delhi is “smart enough to have multiple options”.

“A country which has maximum friends and minimum adversaries is obviously one with smart diplomacy. Why would a country restrict its friends?… Why would it choose to unless the interest compelled it to do that? I am focusing on how to expand my relationships,” Jaishankar told the ANI.

New Delhi has been defying the sanctions imposed on Russia by the United States and the European Union and continuing to purchase crude oil at discounted price since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war. “It is the mind games that others play that as a democracy you should do this and that. Please look in the mirror and tell me how you were behaving as a democracy…Every country has its values and interests, and it finds its balance,” said the external affairs minister.

“Why should it be a problem? I am smart enough to have multiple options. You should be admiring and not criticising. Is it a problem for others? I do not think so,” Jaishankar said in his reply.

Last year, the US had hinted that there is “no contradiction at all” in India remaining one of the key global partners of the US and the country’s increasing procurement of discounted crude oil from Russia. The remark made by US Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources Geoffrey R Pyatt, during an interview to news agency PTI, were the first clear articulation of the Joe Biden administration’s position on India procuring discounted crude oil from Russia amid the Ukraine conflict.economic activities for the benefit of the Indian people.