BRICS: How an acronym from Goldman Sachs morphed into a strategic economic bloc? Rethinking of India's ties with China could effect BRICS? #BRICS #Brazil #China #Russia #India #SouthAfrica #EastAsiaForum #CNBC

"When evaluating India’s policy choices in East Asia, history cannot be overlooked. India–China's rapprochement in the late 1970s, amid the Cold War and the rise of globalization, saw the two countries grow closer. Their budding relationship found common ground in being at the same stage of development. 

It was through this parity that a series of confidence-building measures (CBMs) were signed, enabling India and China to normalize and diversify their relationship into other areas. They became part of various multilateral mechanisms such as the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the East Asia Summit, and the BRICS grouping (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa). 

Trade flourished and Chinese investment in India’s telecom, electronics, solar, and, most notably, digital sectors increased by leaps and bounds. While India had a twinge of envy for China’s rise, it saw opportunities for win-win cooperation. Yet over the past two decades, India has become increasingly wary of the dangers of widening economic, military, and technological asymmetries between the two countries. 

The power shift in Asia has resulted in Chinese behavioral changes. With its growing regional power, China has felt less compulsion to abide by the CBMs. It has started flexing its muscles along the disputed border regions between India and China, resulting in bloodshed and prolonged standoffs. 

Until very recently, India acted like a ‘swing state’ between major powers in the region and avoided taking sides. This can be gleaned from India’s initial lukewarm reception to the idea of the Quad. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s keynote address at the 2018 Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore wished for India and China to ‘work together in trust and confidence, sensitive to each other’s interests. 

Many believe it was the 2017 border standoff in Doklam that pushed India to rethink its involvement in the Quad. If that is the case, the 2020 border clash in Galwan likely played a decisive role in India’s move to incorporate the Quad and the Indo-Pacific Strategy into its military and foreign policy. 

It is unsurprising that Chinese scholars now see India’s ‘Act East Policy and other sub-regional and multilateral mechanisms as subservient to the Indo-Pacific strategy. These multilateral include the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation, the Security and Growth for All in the Region vision, and the Indian Ocean Rim Association — many of which are designed to counterbalance China’s growing influence." 

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