On 30th June 2022, Forum for Global Studies hosted a round table discussion on the topic- ‘Relevance of 14th BRICS Summit in bringing normalcy in Indo-China Relations’. The discussion began with a welcome speech by Col. Manoj Kumar Singh (Retd.), Honorary Director of Research at FGS. He welcomed the esteemed guests, Prof. Boris Volkhonsky, Associate Professor, Institute of Asian Studies, Lomonosov Moscow State University and Mr. Vishwas Tripathi, Chairman, BRICS Chamber of Commerce and Industry, New Delhi. The session was moderated by Dr. Amna Mirza, Honorary member of Advisory Board and Prof. Dr. Cassio Eduardo Zen, Honorary Director, FGS joined as the host.
Col. Manoj Kumar Singh (Retd.) invited Mr. Vishwas Tripathi to start the session and share his insights on the topic. Mr. Vishwas Tripathi started his remarks by citing certain facts highlighting the importance of BRICS. He stated that BRICS constitutes 42 percent of the world’s population and 26 percent of world’s GDP. India and China, together comprise 50 percent of the world’s population. He pointed about the increasing importance of BRICS in addressing the global concerns. For instance, the concerns of global security was highlighted in the context of Afghanistan in the recent summit presided over by China, which was also ratified by India. According to him, the world is becoming interdependent due to factors like economy and trade. He said that the cooperation of Russia, China and India can decide the supremacy of BRICS in the world and then could wield enough strength in resolving global problems for the betterment of the whole world.
He said that India has never approved any involvement of any third party in dealing with its bilateral issues with her neighbours. He elaborated that despite recent bilateral differences between India and China, India did attend the summit in Beijing and passed the resolutions of the summit along with China and Russia. He remarked that through dialogue, interaction, co-operation and coming together on international issues can help in de-escalating the situation between India and China which has also been witnessed in the past. He concludes by saying that India has always followed and stood for the principles of Panchatantra.
He was thanked by Col. Manoj Kumar Singh (Retd.) with a follow up question on his views regarding decreasing inter-dependence among nations or need for ‘localization’ & self-reliance rather than globalisation as is evident in this war & present crisis. To which he responded by saying that he follows Gandhian philosophy and states that a nation should be self-sufficient before conducting welfare activities across the globe.
Moving forward, Dr. Amna Mirza invited Prof. Boris Volkhonsky to address the important inputs coming out from the BRICS summit. Prof. Boris Volkhonsky thanked FGS for inviting him and corresponded to the views of Mr. Vishwas Tripathi in terms of India’s stance in dealing with bilateral issues. He also felt that the world is shrinking and becoming smaller and more interdependent. He also felt that the BRICS is emerging as an alliance to reckon with which gives equal importance to all its members. Also, BRICS is not confronting the west or promoting the non-western agenda, as is being argued by whole of western media. With important countries like Iran, Argentina, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bangladesh, UAE and Uruguay displaying their interest in joining the BRICS goes to prove the emerging relevance of this global alliance. He further went on to point out some the existing problems in BRICS. Firstly, he felt there is a lack of multilateral infrastructure projects among BRICS nations. Secondly, he pointed to the fact that the BRICS summit can be more fruitful if they bring other international forums in their summits. For instance, BRICS could align with ASEAN, Shanghai Cooperation Organisation or SAARC for a joint summit could catapult its importance and say in the world forum. Thirdly, he felt that once each member state of the BRICS aligns itself with the common goal, it would go a long way in overcoming all the existing hurdles.
According to him, the current crisis in Ukraine has opened a platform for co-operation and opportunity which is clearly visible in the present context as Russia and India have already intended to carry the trade in rupee and ruble leading to shrinking of monopoly exerted by the US dollars or the Bretton Woods system.
Dr. Amna Mirza thanked Prof. Boris Volkhonsky for his remarks and pointed out some significant insights drawn from the views of the speaker, namely joint collaboration in global issues, ending of US monopoly and comparative analogy. These could be helpful to all academicians, policymakers and the media as BRICS provides a solid platform for solidarity and cooperation.
Further, Dr. Amna Mirza opened the floor for questions. Col. Singh opined that although India disapproves of any mediation of any third party in its bilateral issues, yet it seems she is using the platform of BRICS to de-escalate its tensions with China. Prof. Boris Volkhonsky responded by stating the fact that joint cooperation which is enunciated through BRICS can definitely help initiate dialogue and discussion and could go long way in creating a platform for India-China co-operation. He believed that though issues between India and China or India and Pakistan are bilateral, it concerns others too. So, if they are resolved, then it could bring much stability in Eurasia and the world. Col. Manoj also had an opinion that the recent crises are the result of western and US interference. He attributed mainly three reasons for all western nurtured problems- Expansionism of EU, expansionism of NATO and fostering of the orange revolution. These have led to crises all over the world, including the current Russia-Ukraine crisis.
He asked for Prof. Boris Volkhonsky to respond to the above as also to the question of role & relevance of the UN in the contemporary crisis. In Prof. Boris’s views the EU expansionism did not concern Russia much but NATO’s enlargement especially when neutral countries like Sweden and Finland are encouraged to join the bloc, will definitely hugely impact the Russia’s security. On orange revolution question, he responded that it is a crisis created by western led governance. As a result, the monopoly of western countries is fast declining and BRICS nations are creating an alternative system in global governance, which is non-western. Responding to the role of the UN, he said that it is playing some part in global affairs but in the recent times, it has become a stage for propaganda and is often used as an instrument by some powerful countries for their own benefits.
Prof. Dr. Cassio Eduardo Zen put forth a question to our esteemed speaker that how he visualises the expansion of BRICS in the light of adopting a consensus approach for every decision making, especially when there is a possibility of new countries joining the forum. To this Prof. Boris Volkhonsky responded that there is no clear response to this question as incorporation of more countries in the BRICS is likely to cause more differences and it will be difficult to arrive at a consensus. He also revealed that there can be an alternative model based on the UN Security Council which when applied in the context of BRICS will give Veto Powers to the founding members and others can only have a certain restricted say in the decision making process. He further also stated that naming of the BRICS will get affected if more countries join it.
Another question was put forward by Mr. Simant Bharti that how will India balance USA in the context of the BRICS bloc and what will be the Russia’s stance on Iran and Argentina joining the BRICS. Prof. Boris Volkhonsky said that he is not sure how India is going to balance the USA as Indian foreign policy does not alienate third parties. He felt that Russia will have a favourable stance on Iran and Argentina joining the bloc. He further elaborated that Russia, Iran and India are part of the north-south corridor. He added that Russia’s relationship with Argentina is also good. Prof. Dr. Cassio Eduardo Zen also affirmed the views of Prof. Boris Volkhonsky and he further added that the joining of Argentina will be supported by Brazil as they are very close friends.
Dr. Sandeep Tripathi added his remarks on India balancing the USA in the context of the BRICS. He said that India follows the doctrine of strategic autonomy and adopts an approach of independent foreign policy of multi alignment with multiple power centres. So, he felt that India should not adopt a balanced stance but demonstrate an assertive stance in its foreign policy.
On the question of any likelihood of BRICS transforming into a military alliance like NATO in the future, Prof. Boris Volkhonsky responded that there is no intention among BRICS countries to foster any military alliance and he disregarded this view.
Prof. Dr. Cassio seconded the views of Prof. Boris and said that in case of any outside attacks on the territories of any BRICS member country, the other participants are not likely to be militarily involved but would only create diplomatic pressure to end the war. Prof. Dr. Cassio Eduardo Zen concluded by citing that the round table conference was a fruitful one with enriching discussions. He also praised the FGS for creating a platform where people from different countries engage, debate and learn on contemporary global issues. He thanked the panellists and all the participants from different countries for engaging with the FGS and being a part of such an illuminating discussion.