Are Russia, India, And China Reviving The RIC Troika? Here’s What You Need To Know

India is testing its finely balanced diplomatic rebalancing as tensions with the West increase on the issues of energy imports and trade. The possible resurrection of its dormant trilateral talks with Russia and China, while reaffirming its pledge to alliances with the United States and its allies. Last week, India signaled that it was willing to revive the Russia-India-China (RIC) dialogue, a forum originally created in the early 2000s to promote coordination between the three Eurasian great powers.

What India Had to Say on RIC

Calling RIC as a consultative forum for sharing regional and international concerns, the Ministry of External Affairs of New Delhi stressed on July 17 that any determination to restart the negotiations would be made “in a mutually convenient way.” There was no deadline given for when the talks could resume.

The development comes after Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov voiced recently firm backing for restoring the trilateral format.

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Speaking at a conference last month, Lavrov reaffirmed Moscow’s interest, saying it aims to “confirm our genuine interest in the earliest resumption of the work within the format of the troika – Russia, India, China – which was established many years ago on the initiative of former Russian prime minister Yevgeny Primakov.”

PM Modi’s Upcoming China Visit And RIC Trioka

It was in May this year that Moscow had taken proactive steps to revive RIC, indicating its interest in positioning itself at the heart of Eurasian diplomacy in the face of increasing geopolitical fragmentation, enhanced China ties, and India’s strategic hedging between West and East.

Throwing further geopolitics into the mix, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is to travel to China on August 31 to participate in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit.

He can also meet Chinese President Xi Jinping, another principal player in the RIC triangle, during the visit.

Observers say these visits might be a sign of a wider regional realignment that seeks to immunize Eurasian powers against US-led diplomatic and economic pressures.

What Is the RIC Trioka?

The RIC format was launched in the late 1990s by then-Russian Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov as a strategic counterweight to Western predominance.

Since then, it has enabled more than 20 ministerial-level interactions, promoting foreign policy, economic, and security cooperation among the three countries. The conversation lost momentum, though, after the 2020 Galwan Valley clash, which gravely damaged India-China relations.

Even though RIC has been overshadowed by groupings such as BRICS and SCO, it still holds importance with the geopolitical clout of member states. India traditionally has taken a cautious approach to the RIC format largely because of border disputes with China. But changing global dynamics could cause New Delhi to rethink its approach to the trilateral grouping.

Why Is India Still Interested in RIC?

One of the driving forces for India’s engagement with RIC is strategic autonomy. India wants to be independent in its foreign policy and not be seen as being too close to either the United States or China. The trilateral framework enables India to take up issues with Russia and China without pledging to permanent alignment.

Both security and energy issues are also important. Russia and China are the pillars on which India’s energy needs and its dreams of a multipolar world order rest. With RIC, India is able to work on common global agendas like reform of the United Nations, strengthening international financial institutions, and fair access to climate finance and green technologies without subscribing to any single school of thought.

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