Restoration of Old Warmth Between India, Russia

Looking at the success of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's two-day India visit, it seems that India and Russia are bringing back the old warmth in their relations, which had been lost with the end of Cold War.

India and the former Soviet Union were very close friends, then and India would stand alongside the Soviet Union at international forums to face the might of the United States. After the fall of the Soviet Union and its disintegration, global conditions changed and distance between India and the United States narrowed, and their relationship touched its peak with the nuclear deal between India and the United States. Relations between India and Russia never became sour, but a kind of laxity had crept in, which had created an atmosphere of diplomatic lethargy.

Strategic and Trade Agreements
It has become clear from the strategic and trade agreements signed during Prime Minister Putin's visit that both countries understand each other's significance. It seemed in the last decade that the world was becoming unipolar under US supremacy, but the growing strength and pace of China and India's development have created a new Asian pole.

Countries like India and China along with Russia conceptualized the Shanghai cooperation. Russia emerged as an economic superpower breaking its own economic shackles, but its trade dependence is on Europe. Russia is looking for new markets to change that dependence, and India is a friend as well as an emerging center of trade.

The New Avenues
To balance the power of China and the United States, mutual cooperation between India and Russia would open up new avenues. It is being hoped that bilateral trade, which is currently worth $8 billion annually, would reach $20 billion in the next five years. There has been a big deal with Russia for military weapons and Russia is also prepared to supply necessary uranium fuel and reactors to India, which is in the new nuclear club. India needs energy and there is huge reserve of petroleum products in Russia.

The United States is India's new friend, but there is always a shadow of doubt over this friendship because of double-faced policies of Washington regarding Pakistan. At the same time, the manner in which China is tightening its strategic and economic grip around India, cooperation between India and Russia becomes inevitable for peace and power balance.

Beginning of Another Cold War

The Cold War between Russia and the United States ended with the disintegration of the Soviet Union. Thereafter, the United States led a unipolar world, but now the Chinese economic surge in recent times has triggered another Cold War.

Although no such conflict between China and the United States has come to the fore so far that can be termed a cold war, in the wake of the supply of nuclear weapons to the Taliban and the meeting between the Dalai Lama and US President Barack Obama, thereby extending moral support to Tibet, China has started raising its eyebrows.

The island named Formosa was recognized as the real China until the middle of the decade of the eighties and it was only thereafter that China was recognized as a nation in the United Nations. Prior to this, the Taiwanese Government was recognized as the defector Chinese Government. Because of the arms supply to Taiwan by the United States in recent past it became difficult for China to capture Taiwan. This small island, by virtue of its technical revolution emerged as a strong country economically and owing to its growing strength it started browbeating China. Meanwhile, the Tibet issue became a burning topic recently and has become a headache for China.

Aggressive Communism
Ideologically, there is a vast difference between the cold war of today and that of the one in the 1980s. The Cold War between Russia and the United States was created due to the conflict between communism and capitalism. Then Russia regarded communism as a better system of governance for the welfare of the working class, whereas the United States emerged powerful as a country favoring social welfare through capitalism. The two countries were involved in proxy war in Korea, Afghanistan, Germany, and Vietnam and the nuclear bombs and guns were kept ready against each other, but these were not fired out of mutual fear.

Now, China is coming into the Russian position, but China does not have an ideological agenda that was available with Russia because it has isolated itself from the aggressive communism by converting itself as a pro-capitalism country. Its people, not enjoying civil liberties, are living in a captive society and its censorship continues to be a mystery for the rest of the world. Chinese products are being marketed at cheaper rates all across the world, but most of the countries have banned the import of the low-quality Chinese goods or consumers of the world are not attracted to them. Doubtless, China has beaten Germany in terms of exports, yet German companies are still popular throughout the world for the quality of its products and the number of their customers has not registered any decline.

Establishment of Chinese Bases
China is now poised to build a nexus with countries such as North Korea, Venezuela, Cuba, and Iran that will compete with US companies in these countries. North Korea and Iran have marched forward in the sector of manufacture of nuclear bombs. Other countries have also followed suit. Since Venezuela and Cuba are located in the vicinity of the United States and despite being rival of the United States do not pick courage to face it and probably will not be able to do so in the future also, but they can pave way for the establishment of Chinese bases in their soil.

India can derive maximum benefit from the cold war between China and the United States, but it can suffer also. India is such a country in Asia that is situated close to China and is surrounded by opponent countries. In recent past, India has suffered in terms of image due to its weaknesses in its foreign policy. Nevertheless, India can avoid the loss by bringing about changes in its foreign policy and maintaining an appropriate balance in the newly created cold war. India also is in possession of enough military potential and arms strength.

New Strategy Needed
In order to surround India, China has made excessive use of Pakistan and it can continue to pursue such a strategy in the times ahead. That is why there exists such a class of politicians who do not favor cordial relations with India.

Under the circumstances, India will need to exercise extreme caution and prudence, and simultaneously while giving a befitting reply to the Chinese browbeating it will have to steer clear of the adverse effects of the Cold War.