India has achieved what nobody else could. The Biden administration, as we all know, has so far functioned with a soft corner for China. Joe Biden has not been as decisive as Donald Trump when it comes to dealing with China. Now, the situation might be beginning to change, as India has entered the equation. The war in Ukraine has shown the United States how it must act to secure its interests around the world. Meanwhile, the burgeoning sanctions on Russia have also frightened the life out of China, which knows it would face similar action if it were to act notoriously in the Indo-Pacific.
According to Bloomberg, a senior U.S. diplomat warned China of sanctions if it offers “material support” for Russia’s war in Ukraine, while also pledging to help India end its dependence on Russian weapons. U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman said at an event in Brussels on Thursday that China wasn’t helping the situation in Ukraine by doing things like amplifying Russian disinformation campaigns.
Sherman warned, “They have seen what we have done in terms of sanctions, export controls, designations, vis-à-vis Russia, so it should give them some idea of the menu from which we could choose if indeed China were to provide material support.”
India’s Efforts Bear Fruit
Ever since the Biden administration took charge of the United States, it has been a dedicated endeavour on the part of India to ensure that the White House realizes how grave of a threat China poses to not just peace and stability in the Indo Pacific, but across the world.
India resisted Biden’s efforts to undermine the Quad, who tried making the platform a front for anti-Russia activism and climate vigilantism. India made it a point to repeatedly remind the United States that no matter what global event occurs, Quad must not lose focus of China.
In official talks as well, India made it clear to the United States that neutralizing the threat posed by China should be the top priority of the democratic world at the moment.
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U.S. Promises Help
Last Thursday, US State Department Counsellor Derek Chollet said the Biden administration is eager to work with India as it diversifies its defence capabilities and suppliers. Separately, Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman said the US would work with India to help it reduce its traditional reliance on Russian weapons.
Sherman said, “They understand that their military, which was built on Russian weapons, probably doesn’t have a future with Russian weapons anymore because our sanctions have pulled back the military-industrial complex of Russia — and it’s not coming back anytime soon.”
It is yet to be seen whether the United States agrees to work with India in order to take forward Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s goal of an ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’. U.S. must allow the transfer of defense technologies if it wants India to replace Russian weapons with American ones.
The silver lining, however, is the fact that the Biden administration has begun threatening China. Until now, this element was absent from the United States’ foreign policy. Now, however, the U.S. has begun laying out in no uncertain terms that China will not meet a good fate if it decides to bully countries in the Indo-Pacific.
Whether Joe Biden really means what his administration is saying will only be seen in the times to come. For now, however, India has been successful at making China’s life miserable. Now that the United States has begun warning the Communist nation, life is all set to get pretty tough for Xi Jinping.