Indian pivot to Global South to defang China’s neo-colonialism
By Manish Anand
New Delhi, January 12: Global South, developing nations, may not be a front united in actions and purposes, but India is seeking to set the discourse for the three-fourth of the humanity to move away from the post-World War II global order. The Global South is currently pushed to the cliff, with risks of tipping over mounting, as the world powers seek to change the status quo with the strength of their arms.
The Global South is reeling under economic crisis, solely caused by the pandemic, which originated from China, aftereffects and the Russia-Ukraine War. Countries such as Sri Lanka, Brazil, Pakistan and Bangladesh among others have seen the wrath of the aftereffects of the two shocks to the Global South. Worse is the fact that when hunger struck the Asian countries, the Global North, the developed countries, were nowhere in action.
While India has become a vocal voice of Global South, New Delhi is well aware that a larger number of the constituents of the group of nations are more loyal to China, for a host of reasons which include their indebtedness and urge to access more financial instruments from Beijing to push back the dates for the economic implosion. India is also well aware that China is the numero uno roadblock to the reforms to the multilateral institutions, including the United Nations. India has been livid at China after Beijing applied technical hold to block the joint bids of the US and New Delhi to list dreaded terrorists, who are currently in Pakistan.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi sought the Global South to partner India to change the dominance of a few countries, as he set the agenda for “respect sovereignty of all nations, rule of law and peaceful resolution of differences and disputes; and reform international institutions, including the United Nations, to make them more relevant”. While he did not name any country, which is a habitual violator of all the aims, Modi’s message was clear that India would seek to replace China with alternative economic partnership model, which would be mutually beneficial for partner countries, in contrast to the debt-trap strategy of Beijing.
“We have turned the page on another difficult year, that saw: War, conflict, terrorism and geo-political tensions: Rising food, fertilizer and fuel prices; Climate-Change driven natural disasters, and Lasting economic impact of the COVID pandemic. It is clear the world is in a state of crisis. It is difficult to predict how long this state of instability will last,” Modi stated in his opening remarks at the virtual Leaders’ Summit of the Global South.
As the eight-decade old model of global governance slowly changes, we should try to shape the emerging order, Modi stated, while also stressing that the principle of ‘Common but Differentiated Responsibilities’ applies to all global challenges.
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