Amid the continuing feud between India and China regarding the Himalayan border, India has reportedly sought an alliance with Russia.
According to Daily Express, New Delhi and Moscow have entered defense deal which amounts to 181.48 billion rupees or equivalent to US$2.4 billion just last week. Moreover, the news outlet stated that the defense deal led to a discussion of the policies which revolves around the dependency of New Delhi on Russia. The deal became controversial as it came at the peak of India's border dispute with China.
With the formation of the said alliance, the reliability of Russia as an ally to India has become a key concern. This is because of Russia's deepening relationship with China as the latter is the top trading partner of Moscow. However, many critics have stated that India needs to further build its ties with Russia despite its improving relationship with the United States.
As the dispute between China and India continues the United States has leaned more on India's side. Thus questions whether it would be better for New Delhi to rely on the US for support rather than Russia arise.
Meanwhile, aside from forming alliances the issue of weapon trading has also entered the talks as both the US and Russia try to boost their sales on the arms supply for India as the military tensions with Beijing continue.
A report by South China Morning Post stated that just last week, the proposal which aimed to acquire 33 Russian warplanes was rushed by New Delhi. It also included the upgrade of 59 other warplanes. The US$2.4 billion-deal was already an addition to the initial deal for s-400 defense missile systems which were worth US$5.43 billion.
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China-India Border Dispute
The battle for the disputed Himalayan border between China and India has escalated to military clashes with has already caused lives. However many people are still clueless about what fueled the deadly clashes.
June 15, 2020 - An encounter between Chinese and Indian troops at Galwan Valley in Ladakh region killed at least 20 Indian soldiers. China stated that the altercation was provoked by Indian soldiers who crossed the border two times and started attacking Chinese personnel.
According to BBC, the fight over the disputed territory has been going on for decades, however, it escalated after India built a new road in Ladakh which was along the area dividing the two sides of the border also known as the Line of Actual Control.
The move by India caused an outrage from the Chinese government who immediately retaliated. Beijing started to deploy troops on the area and have also built several infrastructures in the territory. The move by both sides brought them within closer proximity increasing the risk of conflict and clashes.
The clash over the territory has been very important for both sides since the area is is strategically important not only militarily but also economically. Thus, neither of the two countries are ready to back down and have sought their own allies.
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