Russia Wants To Restart RICS Security Dialogue With China & India

Moscow is interested in resuming dialogue on security issues within the framework of the RIC (Russia-India-China), format, said Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at the ‘Eurasian International Public and Political Hearings on the Formation of an Equal and Indivisible Security and Cooperation Architecture in Eurasia’ conference in Perm on Thursday. (May 29). Lavrov emphasized Russia’s “sincere interest” in resuming the trilateral RIC dialogue, citing the recent de-escalation of tensions on the border between India and China as a favorable opportunity.

Lavrov stated, “Now that an understanding is being reached between India and China on how to calm the border situation, I believe the time has come to revive the RIC trio.”

China and India have been engaged in a military standoff along their disputed Himalayan border, known as the Line of Actual Control (LAC), since a deadly clash in the Galwan Valley in June 2020. They have since held multiple rounds of talks to reduce tensions, and while some areas of friction remain, officials from both countries have recently reported signs of de-escalation and continued military and diplomatic engagement.

Lavrov also expressed concern about NATO’s alleged attempts to involve India in anti-China strategies. “At the summit in Madrid in 2022, NATO announced the indivisibility of security in the Euro-Atlantic region and the ‘Indo-Pacific region’. In fact, such a region has never officially existed. NATO deliberately invented it in order to draw India into its anti-China intrigues.” Lavrov said, adding “I have no doubt that our Indian friends see this provocation perfectly well,” he stressed.

Lavrov also said that NATO’s approach is part of a broader program to provoke confrontation in the Asia-Pacific region and weaken the role of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). “We are told that NATO is a defensive alliance. A couple of years ago, when the then NATO Secretary General J. Stoltenberg announced the alliance’s intention to expand into the Indo-Pacific region, he was asked at a press conference why he was going beyond the territories of the member states. After all, the alliance has always emphasized that it is a defensive alliance and its goal is to protect the territories of its member states. Stoltenberg then said that NATO’s main goal is still to protect the territories of its member countries, but now the threats to these territories come from the Far East, the South China Sea, and the Taiwan Strait, and in order to counter them (they are located 10,000 kilometers from the nearest NATO member), the alliance is moving its infrastructure to the Far East. But in reality, it is to contain China and Russia.”

His comments come as India has continued to develop its strategic cooperation with Western countries, including by taking part in joint military exercises and signing defense agreements with the US. New Delhi has, however, refrained from joining any formal alliances and has maintained strong relations with Russia despite Western pressure related to the Ukraine conflict.

New Delhi has opted not to join Western sanctions against Moscow and has expanded economic cooperation, particularly in the energy sector, becoming one of Russia’s largest oil buyers. The countries have set a target of boosting trade to over US$100 billion by 2030. Russia and India are also collaborating in joint manufacturing of Indian military aircraft, T-72 tanks, and defense logistics agreements.