The Russian and Indian militaries are somewhat quietly strengthening a partnership which includes joint military drills, technological collaboration and the Indian acquisition of thousands of AK-203 assault rifles.
The Indian military may even acquire Russian-built S-400 air defenses, according to Russia’s TASS news agency. Russian and Indian foreign and defense ministers met recently to discuss extending partnerships in the military sphere, the paper said.
This growing partnership between India and Russia raises interesting questions regarding the global balance of power in light of the U.S. wish to strengthen its own partnership with the Indian military to deter and counterbalance China.
“Russia and India signed in New Delhi an inter-governmental agreement on a program for military-technical cooperation for 2021-2030. The agreement provides for cooperation among various branches of the armed forces, and also the supplies and development of armaments and other military hardware,” the TASS paper says.
Should there be any kind of unanticipated confrontation between India and China, Russia’s sizeable and formidable land forces would be well positioned to close-in on China from the North. However, Russia is also building its own collaborative alliance with China as well, something which seems to complicate the overall equation in a geopolitical sense. Would it be possible for Russia to maintain close military-to-military ties with both India and China? What about the U.S.?