https://www.scmp.com/rss/508776/feed Akhil Ramesh is director of the India Programme and Economic Statecraft Initiative at the Pacific Forum. Twitter: @akhil_oldsoul en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com The latest Raisina Dialogue, held recently in New Delhi, attracted global leaders and scholars in a display of India’s position in the world and the clout it wields – not just across the Indo-Pacific but among the Global South. It also showed that India is a much better fit for groupings such as Brics, or even I2U2, than for the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, which launched a think tank forum on the sidelines of the dialogue. Brics’ members include Brazil, Russia, India, China and South... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/asia/article/3253706/raisina-dialogue-indias-lofty-ideals-make-clear-its-quad-misfit?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/asia/article/3253706/raisina-dialogue-indias-lofty-ideals-make-clear-its-quad-misfit?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 02 Mar 2024 21:30:13 +0000 A horse farm in the American Midwest is an odd place for US-China competition to play out. However, that is where protesters gathered with signs reading “No Go on Gotion” and “Don’t Sell Us to China”, expressing their displeasure with the proposed investment by the Chinese battery company Gotion in Mecosta County near Grand Rapids, Michigan. The residents of Green Charter Township voted out five of the seven members of their board after months of mounting controversy relating to the battery... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3246049/anti-china-push-us-midwest-symptom-bidens-dilemma?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3246049/anti-china-push-us-midwest-symptom-bidens-dilemma?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 26 Dec 2023 08:30:18 +0000 As US-China trade tensions persist, supply chain diversification is seriously under discussion. Terms such as “nearshoring”, “friendshoring” and “China plus one” have become part of the foreign policy lexicon. In particular, the Biden administration’s review of supply chains highlighted vulnerabilities in four critical sectors – pharmaceuticals, critical minerals, electric vehicle batteries and semiconductors – and emphasised diversification methods such as partnerships with allies such as Japan... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3237539/trade-and-tech-war-chinas-large-market-big-loophole-us-friendshoring?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3237539/trade-and-tech-war-chinas-large-market-big-loophole-us-friendshoring?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 11 Oct 2023 12:30:13 +0000 Signs of a diplomatic thaw are emerging in the American, Australian and Indian relationships with China. Since April, the Biden administration has sent representatives to Beijing in an attempt to restart dialogue and discussion. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and even climate envoy John Kerry have all made trips to China to find ways to stabilise ties. Similarly, on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and BRICS meetings, Indian Foreign... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3229955/economic-and-trade-realities-us-australia-and-india-are-thawing-their-relations-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3229955/economic-and-trade-realities-us-australia-and-india-are-thawing-their-relations-china?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 07 Aug 2023 00:15:12 +0000 In his address at the Brookings Institution, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan basically sounded the death knell for neoliberalism in Washington. In the process of articulating the vision, justification and rationale for US economic policies, he laid the foundation for what has been called a “new Washington consensus”. The Biden administration is pursuing industrial policies that involve reshoring and “friend-shoring” supply chains, redrawing the global trade architecture. However, the... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3220053/chinas-lead-over-us-ev-markets-huge-not-insurmountable?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3220053/chinas-lead-over-us-ev-markets-huge-not-insurmountable?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 11 May 2023 08:30:07 +0000 At the risk of sounding sardonic, the United States has had a bitter awakening over the past month to the multipolar realities of the new world order, shaped by strategic interests on arbitrary values. Interestingly, it was not just the actions of nations in the Global South that alerted Washington to this new reality, but the sudden shift in gear by its transatlantic partners, such as Germany and France, vis-à-vis China. From the thawing of relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia – mediated by... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3216593/multipolar-world-us-must-craft-better-grand-strategy-beyond-shared-values?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3216593/multipolar-world-us-must-craft-better-grand-strategy-beyond-shared-values?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 11 Apr 2023 17:00:11 +0000 The US has endured over six months of complaints from partners and allies in East Asia and Europe for its slew of industrial policies. These include the Chips and Science Act, the bipartisan infrastructure bill and Inflation Reduction Act, viewed as major successes for the Biden administration at home, but which have caused unease, particularly in Tokyo, Seoul and Brussels. Earlier this month, the European Commission (EC) announced the much-awaited Critical Raw Minerals Act and outlined its... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3214337/unlike-us-eus-green-industrial-policy-not-aimed-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3214337/unlike-us-eus-green-industrial-policy-not-aimed-china?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 23 Mar 2023 13:30:19 +0000 Short seller Hindenburg Research recently published a scathing report on India’s Adani Group, posing 88 questions for the conglomerate to answer. Soon after, the stock prices of all the Adani companies on the Bombay Stock Exchange crashed, dragging down the share prices of several nationalised financial institutions – and sparking fears of a banking-sector collapse. Adani withdrew its share sale and subsequently, Credit Suisse and Citibank stopped accepting Adani company securities as collateral... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3209899/adani-groups-woes-deal-blow-modis-dreams-strong-self-reliant-india?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3209899/adani-groups-woes-deal-blow-modis-dreams-strong-self-reliant-india?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 16 Feb 2023 07:45:09 +0000 The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) grouping has suffered several deaths in the popular media. Critics have questioned its feasibility, given the partners’ economic dependence on China and their divergent approaches to world affairs. China’s former foreign minister Wang Yi even once dismissed the Quad as dissipating sea foam. Since then, the grouping – made up of Australia, India, Japan and the United States – has evolved to address a host of global issues, from vaccines to supply chains,... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3208186/australias-warming-ties-china-leave-its-quad-commitments-doubt?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3208186/australias-warming-ties-china-leave-its-quad-commitments-doubt?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 28 Jan 2023 17:00:17 +0000 At the risk of sounding polemical, if Indian analysts at think tanks in Washington, New York or London got a penny every time they heard an armchair expert opine about how India is a very difficult country or why it is not condemning so and so, they’d all be rich by now. Last year, New Delhi’s position on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine meant that those opinions became a prominent feature of any commentary on US-India relations, like a broken record. The US-India partnership has expanded far and... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3206282/despite-us-unease-india-may-be-its-best-partner-multipolar-world?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3206282/despite-us-unease-india-may-be-its-best-partner-multipolar-world?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 11 Jan 2023 17:30:17 +0000 People in western Europe are facing the worst power cuts in recent memory. A generation of western Europeans has had the privilege of a steady energy supply, powering homes, factories and schools. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the events that followed have ended that and revived discussions on increased dependence on adversarial nations, leading several nations to rethink the type of globalisation practised over the past two decades. In 2017, US president Donald Trump gave an ominous warning... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/world/article/3197559/effects-russias-ukraine-war-teaching-world-hard-lessons-weaponised-interdependence?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/world/article/3197559/effects-russias-ukraine-war-teaching-world-hard-lessons-weaponised-interdependence?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 30 Oct 2022 17:30:17 +0000 In the first week of October, US President Biden Joe Biden issued new export control regulations on advanced computing chips and other items used in semiconductor manufacturing, in an attempt at kneecapping China’s ambitions of becoming a tech powerhouse. With this measure, competition has transformed into containment. Aside from strengthening domestic industrial policy through legislation such as the Chips and Science Act and Inflation Reduction Act, the Biden administration is upping the ante... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3196246/friendshoring-ensures-us-not-alone-moving-key-supply-chains-away-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3196246/friendshoring-ensures-us-not-alone-moving-key-supply-chains-away-china?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 20 Oct 2022 01:15:10 +0000 Sri Lanka’s former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled abroad with his family last week after protesters stormed the presidential palace, following widespread protests over the country’s worsening economic crisis. What brought this Indo-Pacific island nation to such a dire situation? Analysts seem to differ on the reasons. Is China’s costly Belt and Road Initiative to blame, or it financial mismanagement by the Rajapaksa family, or the shift to organic farming? The fact is that all three are... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3185949/amid-china-us-rivalry-sri-lanka-crisis-offers-lesson-engagement?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3185949/amid-china-us-rivalry-sri-lanka-crisis-offers-lesson-engagement?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 22 Jul 2022 02:15:18 +0000 In June, China hosted the BRICS summit, which brought together the leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, just a few days before the G7 meeting. This iteration of the BRICS summit was noteworthy in multiple ways. First, it was held against the backdrop of the Ukraine conflict. Second, Russia recently defaulted on its sovereign debt commitments. Third, India is beginning to feel the pinch of striking a balance in an increasingly bipolar world order. China had invited several... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3184296/china-and-russia-champion-expanded-brics-india-may-have-pick-side?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3184296/china-and-russia-champion-expanded-brics-india-may-have-pick-side?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 06 Jul 2022 19:30:16 +0000 With much fanfare, US President Joe Biden launched the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) in Tokyo last month. Unveiled against the backdrop of the third in-person iteration of the Quad summit, and including 13 states of the Indo-Pacific region, the framework nevertheless did not get the reception Biden was hoping for. It was certainly not his “America is back” moment, and if the details of the IPEF are any indicator, nor was it the unrolling of the red carpet for America’s re-entry into the... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3181753/why-us-indo-pacific-economic-framework-really-all-about-india?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3181753/why-us-indo-pacific-economic-framework-really-all-about-india?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 16 Jun 2022 19:30:22 +0000 The foreign ministers of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa met virtually for the BRICS summit recently, the first since the start of the conflict in Ukraine. This summit was unique for a number of reasons. First, there had been growing speculation that India would not attend because of its differences with China and warming ties with the United States. Second, the summit brought together the five nations to discuss security and responses to global crises, among other issues, just as... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/world/article/3179576/how-western-sanctions-economic-pressures-are-feeding-brics?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/world/article/3179576/how-western-sanctions-economic-pressures-are-feeding-brics?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 01 Jun 2022 01:15:17 +0000 University of Chicago professor and author John Mearsheimer has drawn heavy criticism for his analysis of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. His argument that the war in Ukraine was the West’s fault because it supported states that neighboured Russia and expanded Nato has come under fire from many analysts in the Western world and unleashed a fresh wave of criticism of his body of work across traditional and social media. Interestingly, his analysis is respected in India. The Indian administration... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3174014/indias-reasons-not-joining-west-ukraine-go-beyond-economics-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3174014/indias-reasons-not-joining-west-ukraine-go-beyond-economics-and?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 13 Apr 2022 17:00:14 +0000 In the recently concluded UN climate change summit, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi committed to achieving net-zero emissions by 2070 even as his nation was reeling from a power crisis induced by coal shortages. India recorded a power supply shortage of 1.2 billion units in October – the highest in more than five years – amid a crunch in coal stocks for thermal plants. The western state of Gujarat alone recorded a power shortage of 215 million units, the highest for any month in more than a... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/asia/article/3155831/why-indias-private-sector-key-modis-green-energy-pledge?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/asia/article/3155831/why-indias-private-sector-key-modis-green-energy-pledge?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 14 Nov 2021 06:30:25 +0000 Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had a busy schedule at the Quad summit in Washington last month, meeting heads of state, corporations and investors. Interestingly, his meeting with leaders of the semiconductor industry stands out for multiple reasons. For starters, the meeting came amid a looming chip crisis in India. Since the beginning of 2021, the nation has faced an acute semiconductor shortage, affecting automobile plants across the country. By July, the Ministry of External Affairs was... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3153553/why-indias-push-semiconductor-self-reliance-about-more-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3153553/why-indias-push-semiconductor-self-reliance-about-more-china?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 26 Oct 2021 01:15:16 +0000 In the policy world, there is a tendency to separate issues such as economics and security because of the bureaucratic process of policymaking. The declassified documents on the US strategy for the Indo-Pacific are no different: they clearly outline India’s role as a regional balancer in the region. However, the focus is limited to conventional security challenges, defence collaboration and improving military interoperability between partners in the region. In a part of the world that accounts... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3120479/us-india-relations-biden-should-embrace-trumps-example-and-see?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3120479/us-india-relations-biden-should-embrace-trumps-example-and-see?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 06 Feb 2021 02:15:05 +0000