US expresses concerns over India’s participation in military drill in Russia

In view of the aggression against Ukraine, the United States has expressed "concerns" over India’s participation in parts of the Vostok 2022 military exercise, hosted by Russia—even though New Delhi would not be sending warships to take part in the maritime components of the military drill.

"So, the United States has concerns about any country exercising with Russia while Russia wages an unprovoked, brutal war against Ukraine," Karine Jean-Pierre, the spokesperson for US President Joe Biden, told journalists aboard Air Force One.

She was responding to a question by a journalist about the Biden administration’s views on India’s participation in the military exercise hosted by Russia.

Although India accepted Russia’s invitation to take part in the multi-nation military drill, from September 1–7, it would stay away from its maritime component, to avoid hurting Japan’s sensitivity.

Japan’s objection to maritime drill venue

Warships from the Russian Navy’s Pacific Fleet and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) will take part in the drill in the Sea of Okhotsk and the Sea of Japan as part of Vostok 2022.

Tokyo, however, objected to Moscow's plan to hold its maritime component so close to the Northern Territories, a.k.a. Southern Kuril Islands, claimed by both Japan and Russia.

Japan’s defence minister Yasukazu Hamada said in Tokyo that Russia’s plan to hold the naval drill in the disputed islands was "unacceptable". He also noted that India had conveyed to Japan its decision to stay away from September military drill’s maritime component.

In 2020, India and Japan even inked a military logistics sharing agreement.

India’s participation in the military exercise will remain limited to strategic command and staff drills, alongside Russia and China, as well as several other nations, including Syria, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Laos, a source in New Delhi said.

India’s tightrope walk over foreign relations

"But, of course, every participating country will make its own decisions. And I’ll leave it at that," Jean-Pierre, the Press Secretary of the White House, added, after expressing concerns of the Biden administration on the participation of India, or any other country, in a military drill hosted by Russia.

New Delhi, over the past few months, drew flak from the US and the other western nations, not only for refusing to join them in condemning Russia for its aggression against Ukraine—primarily in view of its decades-old strategic partnership with, as well as its dependence on the former Soviet Union nation for military hardware.

India also circumvented sanctions imposed by the United States and the other western nations on Russia and continued bilateral trade. It also increased oil and coal imports from Russia.

India sought to strike a balance by accepting Russia’s invitation to take part in Vostok 2022, and at the same time, refrained from participating in the maritime exercises.

Japan is India’s partner in the Quad—the four-nation coalition forged to counter China’s hegemonic moves in the Indo-Pacific region—with the other members being Australia and the United States. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh are expected to join their counterparts in Tokyo for the India-Japan 2+2 ministerial dialogue on September 8, a day after the conclusion of the Vostok 2022.

Military exercises or New Delhi’s military posturing?

Over the past few months, New Delhi drew flak from the US and the other western nations, not only for refusing to join them in strongly condemning Russia for its aggression against Ukraine.

India’s move to participate in the military exercise in Russia, along with China and other nations, comes just a few days after it hosted a contingent of the US Special Forces for a joint drill. The 13th edition of the India-US exercise ‘Vajra Prahar’ took place closer to the India-China disputed boundary in the middle sector, even as the two-year-long stand-off between the Indian Army and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in eastern Ladakh remained unresolved.

The Indian Army and the US Army will also hold another military drill—Exercise Yudh Abhyas—at the high-altitude area in Uttarakhand’s Auli from October 4 next. Beijing, last week, protested the ongoing and forthcoming military drills between India and the United States in the Himalayas, and invoked the same border agreements New Delhi accused the Chinese PLA of flouting.

Sources said India and Japan were also planning to hold a military drill soon.