A New Path?

Does India need to follow a new path if it is to achieve success?
The era of the Soviet Union is over. The West has won. So what are our options? Do we stick with our traditional Russian allies, who have helped us innumerable times in our past conflicts and times of crisis? Or do we align ourselves with the US and the west, who have emerged stronger than ever since the end of the cold war and hold virtual sway over the direction of world affairs.

Tha answer, as usual, is to choose a middle path.

In 1991, the USSR fell in on itself like a house of cards. The great Soviet empire, stretching from Vladivostok to Berlin, was no longer. 15 independent nations emerged to form the CIS - Commonwealth of Independent States - an organistaion headed by Russia, but of no major political consequence. Most eastern European countries despised the communist regime, and chose to cooperate with the west at the expense of relations with Russia. Although many know Ukraine as an example, it is relatively recent. It started with Poland, then Georgia, Armenia and so on till present, when Russia now stands alone, wracked by the Chechen insurgency and Iranian duplicity in the south, an ambitous China in the east, and an ever expanding NATO to the west. Indeed, one may not be paranoid in feeling that if the North Pole were occupied, it too would be against Russia.

In this present condition, Russia has very few allies. Among these few is India. With 70% of India's Armed Forces using Russian equipment, you would expect that to be the case. But for Russia, India isnt just a customer (like say Iraq or Iran), it is a strategic partner. In 1993, Russia and India established a payment scheme for Indian debts left over from the cold war, which have benefited both sides. Russia has not been averse to supplying state-of-the-art military equipment to India, and relations between the respective economies have flourished in sectors such as IT, Energy and Space. From projects such as the ever-venerable Su-30 MKI and PJ-10 to the Sakhalin and Vankor oil fields, cooperation has reached a new plane.

On the other hand, things havent always been rosy between the two sides. A recent statement by a Russian Government official has left India crying foul over perceived arm-twisting by the former. Also recent was the dispute over the payment for 16 MiG-29K fighters for the Admiral Gorshkov (now the INS Vikramaditya). But these are minor compared to upward trends in relations.

In short, a qoute from Russian Ambassador M. Kadakin sums it up nicely:
"...I do not think that one would be surprised when I say that the relations between Russia and India have been traditionally developing upwards. They are unique in many ways. In particular, we never had any serious conflicts and disputes, which the majority of states in the world could hardly boast of. Furthermore one can definitely talk of identical or similar foreign policy strategies and geopolitical interests and, in essence, of mutually supplementing nature of our fundamental national interests in the points where they overlap. ..."

It is clear that India cannot (and quite frankly will not) abandon Russia. In spite of the differences, it has remained a staunch ally in India's time of need. Russia also needs India. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the majority of funds for weapons RnD in Russia comes from Indian money, and India has promoted Russian interests in the UN and other international forums when required. Close ties will continue and, in the absence of unforseen circumstances, no serious problems will arise.