Link to article: https://apnews.com/article/business-russia-china-india-united-states-cfe1cd60834e42362945385898e84ea8
Russian President Vladimir Putin recently met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi, India. The two world powers discussed politics and defense issues. The meeting between the two comes in the midst of India strengthening its ties with the United States. Additionally, India and Russia signed a defense contracting agreement; India has purchased approximately 600,000 weapons from Russia. For context, India has traditionally relied upon Russia for its arms; India believes this new purchase will help modernize their military arsenal. The two countries also agreed to spend $30 billion on trade with each other by the year 2025. However, Russia and India’s warming relationship clashes with the U.S. and India’s recently improving relations. China’s increasing power has prompted the formation of a so-called “quad” alliance between India, Australia, Japan, and the U.S. Russia has expressed concerns over this alliance, as the organization consists of enemies to its totalitarian regime.
The deal between Russia and India is significant because it shows the growing power of India on the global scale. I believe India likely initiated the event, because its leaders understand that in order to become more powerful and influential on a global scale, they must form better relations with Russia. Furthermore, the region needs to gain more firepower to continue their track record. With a population as large as India, it is surprising that the country cannot support the production of weapons. If India wants to solidify its pathway to becoming a world power, it has to ensure its weapons can be secured, ideally from within the state. On another note, the liberal discussions underway between the two countries are positive; liberal relationships often lead to more peaceful interactions, as one country doesn’t have to assert dominance over another. The key liberal motivator behind the liberal relationship is economics. The countries have agreed to the treaties they signed because of the possibility of economic gain, arguably the most important factor in analyzing international affairs. The situation evolving between Russia and Ukraine will likely create tension between the Russia-India talks, as India will need to balance relations with Russia and the United States.
The class has extensively discussed India’s rise to power on a global scale. Additionally discussed in class, is how necessary it is for India to improve their domestic issues in order to improve their global standing. This is evident by their reliance on Russia for assault rifles. The class has also discussed how important it is for Russia to outsource their resources, for they were dealt a poor hand geographically. Most importantly, the article relates to India’s position as a rising power. The fact that the country is entering deals with Russia, which is already solidified as a world power, promotes the notion that India is rising as a global power.