THE INDIAN EXPRESS

APLN member C. Raja Mohan argues that Delhi’s current emphasis is on building bridges between developing and developed countries, and that many in the developed world are waking up to the importance of greater cooperation between the North and the South amidst the breakdown of relations between the East and the West. Read the original article here (paywall).

It can now be said plainly. Post-Cold War multilateralism is past its peak — at both the global and regional levels. This week’s East Asia Summit in Jakarta and the G20 summit in Delhi highlight the deep and arguably irreversible crises in the old multilateral order. The dying embers of old multilateralism are marked less by the absence of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping at both summits than by their deepening conflicts with the rest of the world. Russia is locked in a war with the West over Ukraine, and China is at odds with many of its Asian neighbours, including India, Japan, the Philippines, and Vietnam, as well as the US.

The gloomy prospect for multilateralism is in contrast with India’s brightening opportunities to shape regional and global orders. Delhi’s role is critical in the Indo-Pacific Quadrilateral Forum, in the attempt to broaden the ambit of the G20 to address the concerns of the Global South and in the promotion of balanced globalisation that will help all countries.

Although there is much focus on the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the problems it has created for the world economy and the forging of a consensus at the G20, it is Xi’s China that presents enduring challenges to multilateralism. With its new-found economic clout and growing military power, Chinese expansionism has begun to pose a great challenge in Asia, and its staunch support for Russia is part of the problem in Europe.

Image: The gloomy prospect for multilateralism is in contrast with India’s brightening opportunities to shape regional and global orders. (Illustration by CR Sasikumar)