India’s presence amid a broken template of geopolitics, Pg 8.

Key Highlights:

• Operation Sindoor exposed lack of global support for India's anti-terror actions, despite clear evidence of Pakistani involvement.
• U.S. President Trump imposed 25% tariffs on India and threatened secondary sanctions for importing Russian oil.
• EU sanctions targeted India’s Vadinar refinery, despite higher Russian energy imports by EU members.
• China's growing presence in South Asia, including Bangladesh and the Brahmaputra basin, poses strategic threats.
• India’s social sector funding and trade space are shrinking, while it remains absent from global conflict mediation (e.g., Gaza, Ukraine, Iran-Israel).
• India has called out Western double standards, citing their continued trade with Russia.
• A call for multi-alignment, strategic assertiveness, and global engagement has emerged as India navigates a fractured world order.

Detailed Insights:

• Diminished Strategic Trust: Despite India's retaliatory action against terror camps, U.S. praise for Pakistan and Field Marshal Munir's invite to Trump highlighted growing disconnect with strategic partners.
• Geoeconomic Pressure: Trump’s tariff and investment directives, combined with the EU’s CBAM and energy sanctions, reflect a shift from multilateralism to protectionist bilateral coercion.
• China’s Assertive Footprint: China’s regional moves—Kunming trilateral with Pakistan and Bangladesh, Mandarin renaming in Arunachal, and a large dam in Tibet—underscore India's security vulnerabilities.
• Strategic Marginalisation Risks: India's silence on major global conflicts like Gaza and Ukraine risks diplomatic irrelevance, while hedging strategies by East Asian nations limit India’s regional clout.
• Erosion of Multi-Alignment Autonomy: With a potential U.S.-China geopolitical bargain, India's space to manoeuvre is shrinking, necessitating recalibrated diplomatic strategies.
• Trade and Technological Dependencies: China’s grip over India’s supply chains (rare earths, APIs, tunnel tech) amplifies vulnerabilities. Meanwhile, U.S. tech firms resuming AI chip sales to China reveal inconsistencies in the Western strategic posture.
• Need for Proactive Engagement: India’s shift — calling out Western hypocrisy, supporting Gaza ceasefire, and leveraging BRICS, SCO, and the Quad — signals a departure from passive foreign policy.

Concepts Involved:

• Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM): An EU climate measure that imposes tariffs on carbon-intensive imports from non-EU countries.
• Multi-alignment: A foreign policy strategy where a country maintains constructive relations with multiple major powers, avoiding exclusive alignment.
• Strategic Autonomy: The ability of a state to pursue its national interests independently, especially in foreign, defence, and economic policy.
• Geoeconomics: The use of economic tools to achieve geopolitical objectives, such as sanctions, tariffs, and technology bans.