The India-Russia Annual Summit plays a crucial role in maintaining the strong and enduring strategic partnership between the two countries, which has persisted despite shifts in the global geopolitical landscape. This partnership, which dates back decades, is characterized by multifaceted cooperation across various sectors, including defense, energy, and regional security.

Key Areas of Cooperation:
Defense Collaboration:

Arms Sales: Russia has been a longstanding supplier of defense equipment to India, including aircraft, tanks, missiles, and naval systems. The defense partnership also includes joint military exercises and cooperation in defense technology development.
Indigenization: India has increasingly focused on indigenizing defense production with Russian collaboration, aiming to reduce dependence on imports and enhance self-reliance in defense manufacturing.
Energy Cooperation:

Nuclear Energy: Russia is involved in India’s nuclear energy sector, including the construction of nuclear power plants. Cooperation in nuclear energy contributes to India’s energy security and diversification of energy sources.
Oil and Gas: Russia is a significant partner in India’s oil and gas sector, with investments and collaborations aimed at ensuring stable energy supplies.
Regional Security and Diplomacy:

Strategic Alignment: India and Russia share perspectives on various regional and global issues, often collaborating in multilateral forums such as BRICS, SCO, and the UN. This alignment supports mutual interests in regional stability and counter-terrorism efforts.
Afghanistan: Both countries have cooperated on Afghanistan-related issues, aiming for stability and peace in the region.
Impact of the Russia-Ukraine Conflict:
The Russia-Ukraine conflict has potential implications for the India-Russia strategic partnership:

Defense Relations: The conflict may impact defense cooperation, especially if it affects Russian defense supplies to India or complicates joint defense projects. India has traditionally balanced its defense acquisitions between Russia and other countries, but disruptions could pose challenges.

Energy Sector: India relies on Russia for a portion of its energy needs, including oil and gas. Any disruptions in Russian energy supplies due to sanctions or geopolitical instability could affect India’s energy security strategy.

Global Diplomatic Landscape: India navigates its relations with Russia amidst global sanctions and geopolitical alignments related to the conflict. India’s stance on international forums and its strategic autonomy could come under scrutiny.

Maintaining the Strategic Partnership:
Despite these challenges, the India-Russia Annual Summit remains pivotal in reaffirming and strengthening bilateral ties. The historical trust, mutual respect, and shared interests in defense, energy, and regional security continue to underpin the partnership. Both countries recognize the importance of diversifying and deepening cooperation in new areas such as technology, pharmaceuticals, and space exploration.

In conclusion, the India-Russia Annual Summit serves as a cornerstone of the strategic partnership, providing a platform for high-level dialogue and cooperation amidst evolving global dynamics. While challenges like the Russia-Ukraine conflict may pose occasional hurdles, both countries are committed to maintaining and expanding their multifaceted relationship based on mutual benefits and strategic imperatives.

Answer: Indian Ocean Region (IOR) forms an important part of oceanic commons consisting of littoral states of the Indian Ocean marked by a glaring cultural, social, political and economic diversity. It is home to one-third of the world’s population, 25% of the world’s landmass and 40% of the world’s oil and gas reserves. India as a reliable partner of the Indian Ocean Region:

• India holds a central position in the Indian Ocean region because of its geostrategic location..
• India has been an active member of various multilateral and sub-regional groupings such as Indian Ocean Rim Association, Indian Ocean Naval Symposium, etc. for ensuring peace, security and regional prosperity in the region.
• India envisages a rule-based order with effective international cooperation among the littoral states in the region. For instance, India abided by the UNCLOS tribunal award on the maritime boundary arbitration between India and Bangladesh.
• India has frequently provided humanitarian relief in the region signifying its importance as a reliable partner. For example, water aid to Maldives in 2014, vaccine aid to IOR in 2021, etc.

India as the net security provider in the IOR:

• Strengthening maritime security: India can strengthen maritime capabilities of the littoral states through exporting defense equipment, building coastal surveillance networks, training the navy personnel, etc. For instance, the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium, which was conceived by India, can enhance maritime cooperation among navies of the littoral states of the IOR.
• Assistance in wake of natural disasters and calamities: India has been regularly conducting exercises to deepen the Humanitarian Aid and Disaster Relief (HADR) cooperation and coordination among neighbours with the focus on sharing expertise and assisting in building capabilities.
• Rule based policy: India’s policy towards countries in the IOR is guided by the ‘Neighborhood First’ policy and SAGAR (Security & Growth for All in the Region). The leveraging of this policy can help in building greater trust and promoting respect for maritime rules, norms and peaceful resolution of disputes in the region.
• Strengthening Sea Lanes of Communication: Considering India’s strategic presence in the region, it can help in safeguarding major maritime chokepoints and strengthen Sea Lanes of Communications (SLOCs) in the IOR.
• Cooperation with other major powers in the Indian Ocean: India can better utilize its engagement with other major powers for ensuring maritime security. For example, it can leverage its position and membership of Quad to thwart other regional threats in the Indian Ocean.

However, in order to emerge as the net security provider in the region, certain challenges need to be addressed such as rapidly emerging and assertive China, relatively inadequate existing military hardware of India, challenges from non-state forces such as piracy, maritime terrorism, drug trafficking, illicit weapons trafficking, etc. In this context, formulating a coherent IOR strategy and capability enhancement of IOR nations can go a long way in consolidating India’s position in the region.

Answer: Sri Lanka is facing its worst economic crisis since the country’s independence from British colonial rule in 1948. The country has amassed $51 billion in foreign debt, inflation has soared past 17%, and its debt-to-GDP ratio has escalated from 86.9 percent in 2019 to 100.6 percent in 2020, and 105.6 percent in 2021. The reason for the present scenario can be summed up in six key economic challenges: the state of the domestic economy, Balance of Payments (BOP) crises, successive IMF loans, unwarranted agricultural reforms contributing to FOREX scarcity and soaring inflation, downfall of the tourism sector, and the country’s historical fetishism for sovereign debts. The economic crisis has turned in to a political chaos, which has repercussions on India as well. These include the following:

• Strategic involvement of China: Sri Lanka occupies an integral spot in India’s ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy and SAGAR doctrine and forms a crucial part of India’s ‘sphere of influence.” However, since 2015, China has become one of the top lenders to Sri Lanka. China’s debt trap policy may cause Sri Lanka to surrender strategically located townships and ports such as the Hambantota. Now, as the economic crisis worsens, Sri Lanka could stand to lose control of even more of its land in such strategically-located port cities.
• Adverse economic impact on India:
  • Sri Lanka handles over 30 percent of India’s container traffic and 60 percent of its trans- shipment.
  • It is also a major destination for Indian exports.
  • India is the third largest source of FDI for Sri Lanka and has a substantial investment in the island-nation in the areas of real estate, manufacturing, petroleum refining, etc.
• Rise in illegal immigration: Over the past few weeks, more than 2,000 Sri Lankans have arrived illegally in India. Any significant spike in the number of refugees can trigger the apprehensions of the state around issues of public safety and refugee resettlement and stoke conflict with the local population over the use of common resources.
• Revival of the Tamil issue: A possible return of the Tamil-Sinhalese conflict (from the days of the Sri Lankan civil war that ended in 2009 only) also has potential spill over into India.

In this context, a speedy recovery of Sri Lanka is in India’s interest. India has taken the following steps to help Sri Lanka during the economic crisis:

• India, till date, provided around $5 billion worth of assistance to Sri Lanka, of which $3.8 billion was provided in 2022 itself. As the nation was defaulting on its debt, India provided a $400- million currency swap, deferral of a $500-million loan repayment, and two lines of credit (LoC) totalling $1.5 billion.
  • The line of credit India sent contained $1 billion for importing food, medicine and essential items.
  • The rest $500 million was for importing petrol products.
• India has also provided under a credit line 44,000 metric tonnes (MT) of much-needed urea and 16,000 MT of rice (50,000 MT planned) to the island nation as a concern towards resolving food insecurity.
• More than 25 tonnes of drugs and medical supplies, valued at close to SLR 370 million, have also been donated by the government and people of India.
• India has also sent vegetables, sugar, rice and wheat as humanitarian assistance.

With other crises unfolding in India’s neighbourhood, for instance in Nepal and Pakistan, diplomatic efforts need to be stepped up to contain any second order effects on India.