In an article titled “The diminishing returns of the BRICS meeting”, written by former Indian Foreign Secretary Kanwal Sibal and carried by the UK Daily Mail, the retired diplomat reflects on some of the intra-organizational challenges that have hampered the bloc’s cohesion:
“India’s trade gap with China has become even worse. Growing distrust is affecting Chinese investments in India. India has steadily moved closer to the US even in the defence sector. The joint strategic vision with the US for Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean regions is incompatible with the BRICS framework. With serious deterioration of its ties with the US, Russia has strengthened its strategic relations with China.”
The one-time Indian Ambassador to Russia laments how:
“It is leaning towards China on the South China Sea issues. Russia has ceded leadership of BRICS to China as the much stronger economic actor. This has changed the internal balance within BRICS to India’s disadvantage.”
He surprisingly concludes that:
“All this shows that while BRICS has value as a platform for India to engage with key non-Western countries in areas of shared interest, our vital interests are not protected or advanced by this grouping.”
Vladimir Sotnikov, a senior expert with the Global Security Center in Moscow (studio guest), Mike Herrington, Executive Director, Global Entrepreneurship Research Association, University of Cape Town, Brian Yeung, independent contributor to Chinese and English media in HK commented on the issue.
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