Opinion | India’s US-Russia balancing act makes for an uneasy Quad alliance

While India is cozying up to Australia, Japan and the US as part of the Quad, it is also a large customer for Russian arms and a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation member

Meanwhile, the US’ double standards on India’s regulation of its waters calls into question the legitimacy of the Quad’s moral high ground

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US President Joe Biden (top centre) hosts a meeting with Narendra Modi, India’s prime minister, in the White House in Washington, on September 24. Photo: Bloomberg

Published: 9:15am, 26 Nov 2021

The sight of Soviet Sukhoi Su-30MKI jet fighters over Darwin during Australia’s 2018 Pitch Black exercise was unexpected. The Su-30s, part of the Indian Air Force, were practising cooperation with US and Australian air forces.

It would be easy to dismiss India’s Soviet-supplied fighters as a legacy of times prior to the recent tie-up between Australia, Japan and the US in the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue. However, this friendship with the former Soviet Union continues.

India’s defence and foreign policy profile under Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a balancing act in which India plants a foot in both camps. This makes for an uneasy Quad, although these anomalies are simply ignored by Australia and other Quad members.

India remains a large customer for Russian arms vendors. Russian President Vladimir Putin may visit India in December for the annual Russia-India summit. Previous summits have seen the announcement of some very large arms deals.

This year, these deals are facilitated by the suggestion that New Delhi’s military hardware purchases from Russia may be granted an exemption from the US’ Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act.

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