US-Russia-China Dynamics Are a Nightmare for India

New Delhi's Ties With Moscow and Washington and Their Ties With Each Other Have Suddenly Lost Balance

- KUNAL SINGH

The United States of America, Russia, and China—the state of relations among these three countries tends to determine how safe the world generally is for India. India feels threatened by China at its doorstep, with which it also has a territorial dispute that has turned bloody on a few occasions. India, therefore, seeks good relations with both the US and Russia.

An ideal world for India would be one in which it has good relations with both of them, and those two, the US and Russia, also have good relations with each other. In this world, India could build defense ties with both the US and Russia, and its relations with either will not be looked at with suspicion by the other. However, even if it can attempt to build good relations with both Washington and Moscow, bilateral relations between those two are beyond New Delhi's control.

Since independence, India has hardly ever enjoyed such an ideal world for its safety and prosperity. During the Cold War, the US and Soviet Union were two superpowers engaged in an intense security competition. Despite not wanting to choose sides, India was forced to do so—and it chose better relations with the Soviet Union over the US for a variety of reasons.