U.S. President Donald Trump has again found himself at the center of controversy, this time for making a rather outrageous comment on the recently concluded SCO summit held in China. India, China, and Russia came together for the much-anticipated summit and discussed the regional economic dynamics.
However, as soon as the summit concluded, the comment made by US President Donald Trump started to gain traction. In a rather bold move, Trump ascertained that Beijing is using its regional status to bring New Delhi and Moscow closer together. Trump went to the extent of stating that India and Russia have now been lost to China.
Some have dismissed this comment as a rather candid one, while others have termed this as a continuation of the earlier Trump China dominance remarks. While some have termed this as an effort to divert attention from his own administrative failures, which is pushing the US into a recession.
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Trump did not restrict himself to this. He went to the extent of saying that both nations have started taking China more seriously because of its renewed emergence as the greatest economic power of Asia. Trump’s comment on the Modi, Putin Xi summit received widespread coverage in the global media.
Major European powerhouses such as Italy and France have also taken notice of these comments, as a major global political shift can have economic significance for European nations as well. Europe imports much of its energy from the West, so if a global economic war starts, it can send the world energy price levels into unprecedented highs.
Pundits feel that these changing relations between the countries can also have a severe impact on the independent foreign policy of each country. The European trade corridors too can get affected if the relationship between the countries strains further.
This comment made by Trump also carries a huge significance for India. This is mainly because of the fact that the comment came at a time when India is going through a major foreign policy recalibration. India finds itself in a very strange situation because it has been a top ally for the US for many years now. However, the geographic position of India does not allow India to politically or economically isolate itself from China.
However, if India tries to strengthen its relations with China, it is definitely going to affect the US-India relations because of the historic rivalry between US and China. India finds itself in a similar situation with respect to Russia as well. It is a well-known fact that India is highly dependent on Russia for fuel.
However, India’s decision to keep importing oil from Russia even during the time of the Ukraine war did not go very well with the USA, which put a dent in the relationship between these two countries. And this is the reason why Trump’s SCO summit reaction is being seen by the experts as not only a criticism but also a warning.
It would not be an overstatement to say that the statements made by Trump have left policymakers and analysts largely divided all across the globe. As usual, the supporters of Trump have decided to take his side by saying that the comments made by Trump are apt because China is trying hard to increase its regional power through various ways, right from economic influence to technological progress. However, the critics have again termed this as yet another example of Trump’s racist comments, which have been made just to create tension in the Far East and weaken the relations between China, Russia, and India.
Irrespective of anything, the Trump statement on the SCO summit, in a way, has triggered India and Russia to rethink how they should go about things in Asia’s evolving order. However, for certain it can be assumed that the world is keeping a close eye on India, Russia, and China.