INDO PACIFIC SECURITY PERSPECTIVES : UNITED STATES & RUSSIA SUSTAINED SUMMIT EXCHANGES IMPERATIVE FOR INDO PACIFIC SECURITY

Monday, June 21, 2021

UNITED STATES & RUSSIA SUSTAINED SUMMIT EXCHANGES IMPERATIVE FOR INDO PACIFIC SECURITY

Contextually viewing Indo Pacific troubled security environment in 2021 arising from China's unrestrained military aggressiveness and brinkmanship, and placing the same against the backdrop of the United States and Russia having significant stakes in Indo Pacific stability, strong imperatives exist that the Presidents of United States and Russia engage in Summit Meets to review Indo Pacific security.

The Geneva Summit held last week between US President Joe Biden and Russian President Putin needs to be welcomed as a welcome step in this direction. It does not need much emphasis to state that both the United States and Russia have significant stakes in Indo Pacific stability by virtue of being giant littoral States of the Pacfic.

Furthermore, it needs to be singularly highlighted that even at the height of intense US-USSR Cold War Superpowers confrontation in theAsia Pacific and sizeable Navy deployments of both these Superpowers in the Pacific, there was a marked restraint by both the United States and Russia not to indulge in needless military adventurism of the type and magnitude that China has been indulging in ever since 2012.

Conteporaneously, Russia in a Strategic Nexus with China gets perceptionally typecasted as "Collusive", and at best, "Permissive" of China's military expansionsim in the Indo Pacific. This dents Russia's image in Asian capitals and that sort of image Russia can ill-afford if it wishes to regain the exalted position of being an 'inependent power centre in gobal affairs'.

Russia also has to be mindful of the strategic reality that China has clashing interests with Russia in Europe, Central Asia, Far East and now in Greater South West Asia in the vacuum ensuing on exit of US Forces from Afghanistan.

Russia today has no significant leverages over China either to secure Russia against China encroaching on its traditional turfs in Russia's Near Abroad or Russia's Far East where illigal Chinese migrants nearly a million strong have ensconced them.

Nor can Russia exercise restaint on China's military adventurism in Indo Pacific by itself alone. This has led Russia to be tagged as China's 'B Team'.

The UnitedStates comparitively is well placed to impose some deterence on China by virtue of its security architecture in Indo Pacific and especailly with the emergence of the QUAD.

With China inevitably heading into an Armed Conflict with United States, would Russia be willing to underwrite China's military expansionism in Indo Pacific or militarily aid China in a potential War with United States?

The obvious answer is a big NO.

Admittedly it takes two to tango and that the United States has not been able to 'Reset' its Russia-policy in a mould promotive of inducing 'strategic trust' but then contemporary geopolitics dictate that both the United States and Russia strive to work together and be seen as working together to maintain security and stability in the Indo Pacific.

Towards the above end, strong imperatives exist for United States and Russia to engage themselves in sustained Summit Meets regularly.

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Dr Subhash Kapila—Academic & Professional Profile

Dr Subhash Kapila is a Graduate of the Royal British Army Staff College.UK.: has a Masters in Defence Science from Madras University with his thesis on ‘India’s Foreign Policy in Far East Asia’ and a Doctorate from Allahabad University with his thesis in 1994 on ‘Asia Pacific Security-2000 AD Perspectives’.

Dr Subhash Kapila combines a rich and varied professional experience of Indian Army (Brigadier) in criteria appointments on Command, Staff and Instructional. Indian Army service encompassed long tenures on India’s borders with China and Pakistan.

Dr Subhash Kaila’s professional exposures also include diplomatic assignments in United States, Japan, South Korea and also official tenures in UK and Bhutan. These years of diplomatic and official assignments afforded deep insights on Asia Pacific security challenges and China-watching from different perches.

Dr Subhash Kapila has authored two books--- ‘China-India Military Confrontation:21^st Century Perspectives’ (2015) and an earlier one on India’s Defence Policies & Strategic Thought-A Comparative Analysis’ (2004)

Dr Subhash Kapila has authored over nearly 2000 Papers on Geopolitical, Foreign Policy and Strategic topics of Major Powers like USA, China, Japan and regional issues of South Asia, South East Asia and the Middle East.

Dr Subhash Kapila has presented Papers at international forums in Russia, Japan, Turkey and Vietnam and National and University Seminars in India.

Invited for TV/Radio discussions by CNN, BBC, Pakistan Geo TV and multiple Indian Channels.

INDO PACIFIC REGION—GEOPOLITICAL SIGNIFICANCE

“Indo Pacific Region encompassing the vast geographical expanse from West Coast of the United States to the Eastern Littoral of Africa on the Indian Ocean and Australia in South Pacific has emerged in recent years as a fulcrum of global security and stability.

Competing security narratives led by the United States and a reactive hardly credible narrative by China challenges foreign policy and security policies directions of Major Powers in the Indo Pacific comprising United States. India, Japan and Australia.

Needless to highlight as so many academic treatises have already done so that Indo Pacific Security Template as a strategic construct and narrative emerged so as a narrative in the last decade generated by fears of China’s not so benign intentions manifested from Himalayan Heights of China Occupied Tibet borders with India to the Western Pacific seas, and more pointedly to the South China Sea where China has indulged in military aggression ad coercive brinkmanship to establish “Full Spectrum Dominance” endangering Indo Pacific Security as a whole.”------------Dr Subhash Kaila’s earlier writings.

“The Indo Pacific has assumed tectonic significance for a wide range of nations affirming their agency in an uncertain world. Far from being an obscure account of of words and maps, the narratives of Indo Pacific nations hands a great dilemma of the 21^st Century: how can other countries respond to a strong and coercive China without resorting to capitulation or conflict.” –Professor Rory Metcalf, Australian National University.

“In this century, the Asia Pacific and the Indian Ocean Rim which some refer as the Indo Pacific will become the world’s centre of gravity.”---Australian Defence Minister