New Delhi: China marked the eightieth anniversary of Japan’s give up throughout World Conflict II with a grand navy show in Beijing, celebrated because the Victory Day Parade, on September 3. The occasion showcased China’s increasing navy power by way of elaborate formations and the disclosing of superior weaponry. However past the pageantry, what drew international consideration was the uncommon public alignment of Chinese language President Xi Jinping with Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean chief Kim Jong Un.
Over 20 heads of state attended the parade. Amongst them was Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Nevertheless, one absence was notably conspicuous. Prime Minister Narendra Modi didn’t take part.
The trio of Xi, Putin and Kim standing shoulder to shoulder in the course of the parade was a symbolic gesture, which was seen as a problem to the U.S.-led liberal international order. This alignment got here shortly after U.S. President Donald Trump accused China, by way of a Reality Social publish, of conspiring with Russia and North Korea in opposition to American pursuits.
Whereas not naming Trump instantly, President Xi mentioned in his speech that China “doesn’t worry intimidation”.
The choice to not attend the parade was rigorously scrutinized in India. The parade was commemorative of the Chinese language resistance in opposition to Japanese aggression throughout WWII. Regardless of its colonial previous, India doesn’t contemplate Japan a fascist energy in the identical gentle. Attending the parade may need inadvertently signalled opposition to Japan, a rustic with which New Delhi presently shares heat diplomatic and strategic ties.
The invitation to attend the was prolonged to all nations. Nevertheless, for India, which views Japan as an in depth good friend, attending a parade that celebrated navy victory over Tokyo would have despatched conflicting indicators. China by no means trusted India within the first place, and it nonetheless doesn’t.
India prefers to not be seen supporting regimes that aren’t liberal or democratic. Lots of the international locations attending the parade fell quick on parameters corresponding to civil liberties, democracy and transparency. The gathering symbolised a brand new international order that China is attempting to construct, one which India doesn’t want to be a part of.
The strategic nature of Modi’s earlier go to to Japan, which preceded his journey to China, appeared much less like a coincidence and extra like a calibrated transfer. Japan and China share historic and ongoing tensions. In China, references to Japan typically gas nationalist sentiment. India’s resolution to skip the parade helped keep away from the optics of standing with China and North Korea, each adversaries of Japan.
Some speculated whether or not Donald Trump’s growing tariffs on Indian items influenced Modi’s absence. The U.S. president had imposed a 50% tariff on Indian merchandise, straining ties with New Delhi.
Nevertheless, a gaggle of specialists dismiss this as a direct trigger. They consider that Modi’s resolution had extra to do with long-term strategic alignment than short-term diplomatic retaliation.
Current developments counsel a thaw in India-China ties after years of pressure following the 2020 Galwan Valley conflict. Visits by each international locations’ international ministers and Modi’s presence on the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in China indicated enhancing diplomatic dialogue.
Nevertheless, India staying away from the parade served as a reminder that whereas conversations are open, core variations stay unresolved.
For India, taking part in China’s Victory Day Parade would have meant greater than ceremonial attendance. It could have carried geopolitical implications, probably signalling endorsement of China’s navy assertiveness and its different world imaginative and prescient. And that, specialists agree, is a message New Delhi was not keen to ship.
India seems dedicated to aligning with liberal democracies and preserving its strategic autonomy. The nation might proceed partaking China by way of diplomatic channels and multilateral platforms such because the SCO, but it surely stays cautious of being pulled into spheres of affect that contradict its broader imaginative and prescient for a democratic and rules-based worldwide order.