Context
- Owing to the growing differences between its two biggest members, India and China, the upcomming 9th BRICS summit in Xiamen may see the reflection of bilateral standoff on the multilateral negotiations.
Challenges to the Summit
- BRICS now faces its most challenging summit because of growing differences between its two biggest members, India and China.
- The bilateral issues over the boundary along with other issues like Nuclear Suppliers Group membership for India, terrorism, the rift over China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is also likely to dominate discussions at BRICS.
- Another challenge for India is likely to arise from China’s plan for a “BRICS-Plus” or “Friends of BRICS” grouping, with China’s plan to include Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Mexico to an expanded version of BRICS.
- Russia, distancing itself from the U.S. and Europe post- Ukraine crisis has increased its dependence on its east and south, thus moving closer to China.
- USA’s new Afghanistan Policy with Russia, China, Iran and Pakistan ranged on one side, and India, the U.S. and NATO allies now on the other.
Conclusion
- It is an indicator of the importance of BRICS that both Mr. Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping had to exert enough pressure on officials to bring about the disengagement in Doklam a week before the summit at Xiamen.
- BRICS has fared better than two other groupings, SAARC and the Non-Aligned Movement, whose last summits India skipped, and appears to have abandoned.
- On the lines of the theme of BRICS Summit-‘Stronger Partnership for a Brighter Future’, both countries should seize the opportunity and make sure that the bilateral issues don’t linger over the negotiations of more important multilateral issues.
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