India Will Join G7 Expansion If It Is Based On Equality
By
Colonel Awadhesh Kumar, Special Forces, Veteran
American President Donald Trump made a request to India, urging it to join G7 as he was floating a proposal to expand the G7 into G12. Prime Minister Narendra Modi responded positively to this proposal of Trump’s proposal. He did the right thing as till now G7 has had no major differences specifically with India.
As per our Videsh Mantralaya, Modi commended Trump on telephone for his creative and far-sighted approach, acknowledging the fact that such an expanded forum would be in keeping with the emerging realities of the post Wuhan Virus world.
The idea of G7 expansion will surely benefit World Economic activity. However China thinks that this expansion is being done according to calculations of Western Powers with an obvious attempt to contain China. There view is that the US is keen on roping India not only because India is now the third largest economy in the world as per PPP terns ( true indicator of economic status ), but also because India is now the fourth counter balancing power in the world power balance apart from USA, Russia and China.
India’s positive response to Trump’s plan is not surprising. With its expanding economic power, India now wants to ensure that existing power blocks shed their grip on various restrictive practices imposed by them on rest of the world. In fact the US now has no choice but to align with India. Even during the Cold War Era between the Soviet Union and the West, India had retained its independent path and ideology. So only a naive will think that now when India is an emerging power both economic and military, it will join any such blocks as a second fiddle.
China has once again created military tensions with India and because of this spat they feel that China by endorsing the US G7 expansion idea India is sending threatening signals. Though it requires no strategic genius to deduce that through a Indo US Cooperation, China will naturally get checked in its various anti Indian activities in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir and Indian Ocean Region.
Nehru had been naive and idealistic and because of this a free country like Tibet got occupied by China and India lost a buffer state in existence for thousand of years. Finally in 2014 India has got a government which is dismantling the British mode of governance and erecting an Indian one.
India’s attitude toward China has changed from appeasement to standing firm. India is going to take its true position in world geopolitics. India has decided to upgrade its engagement with the Quadrilateral Strategic Dialogue, or “the Quad,” between India, Australia, Japan and the US, at the ministerial level in September 2019 to ensure peace and freedom in all the Oceans of the World.
During Trump’s visit to India in February this year, both agreed to enhance their relations to the “comprehensive global strategic partnership” level. This means India will now coordinate with USA, Russia, Japan and all other major world powers to ensure world peace and economic prosperity.
Amid the backdrop of the Wuhan pandemic, senior officials from Quad countries and three additional states – New Zealand, South Korea and Vietnam – teleconferenced in March. India played an active role in pushing this meeting. Apart from dealing with Wuhan virus issues, the efforts to institutionalize the Quad and to expand it to Wellington, Seoul and Hanoi has been taken at the initiative of India.
India has been quite active in many international for a post-pandemic era, as most of the countries have acknowledged its rightful position and importance. India’s strategic and policymaking circles in New Delhi have now started viewing world events from Indian perspective. All action now being taken are those which will enhance India’s economic rise and ensure its security.
China should not feel that India is joining any power bloc to contain China. They are welcome to increase their economic and cultural cooperation with India. However for that China will have to stop playing games with India. It cannot prop up Pakistan against India and poke its nose in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir and insult India’s Sovereignty. It must also settle all pending border issues and grant full autonomy to Tibet and withdraw its forces from there to start with.
However, if China perceives India as an imaginary enemy then China-India relations will deteriorate. This is not in either’s interests. The current bilateral relations have already been on a downward trend. The China-India relationship is now in a state that only top leaders can determine the future progress. After all, the deteriorations of relations cannot simply be reversed through efforts at social levels.
