{"id":62303,"date":"2025-09-07T12:31:36","date_gmt":"2025-09-07T07:01:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=62303"},"modified":"2025-09-08T13:17:48","modified_gmt":"2025-09-08T07:47:48","slug":"indias-foreign-policy-shift-sco-summit-u-s-tensions-and-strategic-autonomy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/indias-foreign-policy-shift-sco-summit-u-s-tensions-and-strategic-autonomy\/","title":{"rendered":"India\u2019s Foreign Policy Shift: SCO Summit, U.S. Tensions, and Strategic Autonomy"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><b>India Foreign Policy Shift Latest News<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Modi began attended the SCO summit in Tianjin, where a photo with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin drew global attention.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It seemed to upset U.S. President Donald Trump, who made sarcastic remarks while the U.S. increased tariffs to 50%, imposed sanctions on India\u2019s Russian oil imports, and urged the EU to do the same.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Despite the tensions, Modi and Trump struck a conciliatory tone recently.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Power Play at the Tianjin SCO Summit<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The 10-nation SCO summit in Tianjin showcased China\u2019s growing influence, with leaders from Turkey, Nepal, Maldives, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Indonesia, and Malaysia in attendance.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The focus then shifted to Beijing, where President Xi Jinping and President Vladimir Putin led a grand military parade marking 80 years since World War II\u2019s end, joined by North Korea\u2019s Kim Jong Un and others.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The summit\u2019s declarations criticized \u201c<\/span><b>coercive, unilateral\u201d economic measures<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, targeting U.S. tariffs and European sanctions.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">China promoted a \u201cGlobal Governance Initiative,\u201d while PM Modi called for \u201ccivilisational dialogue\u201d among SCO members.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Modi\u2013Xi Bilateral: Steps Toward Normalisation<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">PM Modi\u2019s first China visit since 2018, and first direct meeting with President Xi since the 2020 Galwan clashes, marked a cautious thaw in ties.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Xi called India and China \u201c<\/span><b>partners, not rivals<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">,\u201d while India softened its earlier stance of linking broader ties strictly to border normalisation.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Both sides agreed that Special Representatives \u2014 Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and India\u2019s NSA Ajit Doval \u2014 would continue talks on the boundary issue.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Besides revival of flights, visa facilitation and the Kailash Manasarovar Yatra, they agreed to resolve the trade issues between them.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>U.S. Reaction to India\u2019s SCO Engagements<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In Washington, images of the Tianjin \u201ctroika\u201d with Modi, Xi, and Putin \u2014 alongside other leaders from Russia, China, North Korea, Iran, and Pakistan \u2014 were viewed as <\/span><b>India drifting away from the West<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Former U.S. President Donald Trump posted that America had \u201clost India and Russia to deepest, darkest China,\u201d while Trade Adviser Peter Navarro criticized India for aligning with Russia and China.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Some even dubbed the Ukraine conflict \u201cModi\u2019s war,\u201d a claim India\u2019s MEA rejected.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Despite tensions over tariffs, visas, and trade, Trump later softened his stance, calling India\u2013U.S. ties a \u201cspecial relationship\u201d and praising his friendship with Modi, who in turn welcomed Trump\u2019s positive remarks.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>The Road Ahead for India\u2019s Foreign Policy<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Despite perceptions of India swinging between East and West, its approach continues to reflect its <\/span><b>long-standing policy of strategic autonomy and balance<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">PM Modi\u2019s China visit for the SCO, following the Xi-Modi meeting in Kazan in 2024, was aimed at normalising ties after years of tension, though the Modi-Xi-Putin interaction carried limited weight without a revival of formal RIC talks.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India\u2013U.S. ties remain strained over tariffs, Russian oil imports, and market access, but military cooperation and official exchanges continue.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The upcoming UNGA visit by External Affairs Minister Jaishankar and discussions on the Quad summit, with Trump expected in India later this year, will be key in shaping the trajectory of India\u2013U.S. relations.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Source:<\/b> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/news\/national\/is-a-shift-underway-in-indias-foreign-policy-explained\/article70020387.ece\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">TH<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>India balances East and West in foreign policy, with Modi\u2019s SCO visit, U.S. trade strains, and Modi\u2013Xi talks reflecting strategic autonomy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":62431,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[2548,60,22,59],"class_list":{"0":"post-62303","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","8":"tag-india-foreign-policy-shift","9":"tag-mains-articles","10":"tag-upsc-current-affairs","11":"tag-upsc-mains-current-affairs","12":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62303","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=62303"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62303\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/62431"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62303"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62303"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62303"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}