The Ride And A Rider

 

 

 

THE regular rants emanating from Washington DC have surged into dirty diatribes. Laced with unmissable contempt, the statements coming from United States President Donald Trump and his close aides are singling out India over trade tariffs. It is a tell-tale sign of a severe jolt delivered to the USA by the Tianjin Troika. Trump is rattled by the exemplary bonhomie seen between Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Tianjin. The White House blabber has amplified, sounding the emergence of a new axis for the world to look up to. The SCO summit’s joint declaration was a regional subject for the consumption of the member-nations.

 

Its import went beyond the meeting agenda as the warmth on display between the leaders of three big countries made the heads turn in Washington. As the three leaders conveyed their positions at the regional summit in the port city, what was of immense importance was the tone, tenor and timing of their shared laughs and clasping of hands in public view. It was a telling optic conveying the ease of the US “targets” amid the thick tensions enveloping the global economy due to Trump’s dictatorial tantrums. In the face of the US pressure, the SCO gathering’s relaxed ambience served as a clear signal to the POTUS to wallow in his own reckless policy filth. The SCO was a salver full of optics for the world. One such visual came with the highest significance not only for the United States but also for China, the summit host. The car-pooling of Russian President Putin and PM Modi bore tremendous importance. The ride came weeks after Putin and Trump shared “The Beast” during their Alaska meeting. In Tianjin, Putin made it a point to wait for Modi to take him in his own armoured Limousine.

 

It was a subtle statement, positioning India as a trusted friend for all seasons. It was also a message of defiance to the 50% tariffs on India as punishment for buying Russian oil. The Putin-Modi pair spent nearly an hour in the car after reaching the destination before proceeding for bilateral talks. What the backseat bromance implied was of great significance to China. It was a clever tactic by the ex-KGB officer to dodge “ears” prying on private conversations. In Chinese territory, ruled by a technologically advanced military, the Limousine was the best place to have a candid talk on issues of critical importance without anybody snooping on the conversation. In just one act of craftiness, India and Russia made it clear that their own relations go beyond any axis the world may form. The ride and the “insightful” private talk in the car also holds a big message for India’s foreign policy makers to tread carefully while engineering a relationship reset with China. Both have come together to mend fences after shared grievances over the high US tariffs. They are seeking a common ground to forge a trade relationship which can rival the US. It is a long-cherished ambition of China to challenge the US dominance.

 

That India is on the wrong side of the US broadside has played to China’s comfort and hence the rhetoric of the “Dragon-Elephant Dance”. The friction with the US has resulted in quick moves by India and China on the pullback of troops, restarting direct flights, lifting bans on apps and products, and an increase in business. The thaw in the ties looks comforting in both countries. However, there are too many riders before India decides to go full throttle on the repair of relations with China. The hard facts that India cannot ignore are beneath the surface of the present rhetoric. The current optics make a wonderful theatre to rile Trump and his trigger-happy aides like trade adviser Peter Navarro. A Sino-Indian bonhomie causes tremendous heartburn to these dreamers of American hegemony.

 

However, it comes with a limited shelf-life. India cannot get trapped in the prospects of a limited show of gamesmanship. It has too many serious issues to deal with when it comes to China. Both have long fought over the Himalayan border and Beijing’s brazen support to Pakistan. India had openly called out China’s direct role in providing live Intel to Pakistan during Operation Sindoor. Plane-loads of Chinese weapons had landed in Pakistan immediately after the Pahalgam terror massacre as both the all-weather friends had anticipated a deadly response from India. Beyond the political symbolism of PM Modi’s visit to China after seven years there are many trust issues to be taken care of. The slogan of India and China “being partners, not rivals” makes a good headline. It delivers a signal to the US about the options for both the Asian giants. But realising the true definition of partners will need a bigger reset from China. The hard facts that India cannot ignore is the infrastructure building by China’s military near the border and in the Tibetan plateau. Despite disengagement of troops from friction points in Ladakh, there is still no status quo ante. The trade asymmetry is a biting truth, the Chinese salami-slicing continues to needle India, and the foray of “research vessels” in the Indian Ocean goes on unabated. Add to it the growing influence of China in India’s immediate neighbourhood including Nepal, Sri Lanka and now Bangladesh. The surface beneath the rhetoric is a complex muddle. India does need China to form a new counterweight for safeguarding its economic interests. But the weight also seeks a perfect balance. Reconfiguration of that balance was the “insight” that came out from the Putin-Modi car ride in Tianjin.