The US deputy national security for international economics Daleep Singh faced criticism for his comments made during his visit to India. Singh is the Biden administration’s key architect of the sanctions against Russia for its so-called ‘military operation’ in Ukraine. Singh while speaking to CNN-News18 and other news agencies said that India needs to look at the situation in the Indo-Pacific and bluntly said that Russia will not help India if China continues its aggression on the northern and northeastern parts of Russia.
While speaking to CNN-News18, Singh debated that not questioning Russian president Vladimir Putin sends a weak signal to ‘autocrats’ around the world. “If there was unchecked aggression, look at the signal it will send to autocrats around the world. The chilling effect and uncertainty it will cause, perhaps even on India’s border. The more leverage China gains over Russia, the more problematic is will be for India,” Singh told CNN-News18.
In face of sanctions from the West, some worry that over time China could make Russia its vassal state though at this point these are conjectures. However, Daleep Singh’s comments came shortly before Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov’s visit to New Delhi where he is meeting his counterpart S Jaishankar and may also meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Reactions to Daleep Singh’s blunt statements were harsh. Some commentators even saw it as a warning. Criticism from the Union minister of external affairs S Jaishankar also came in albeit without naming anyone but pointing towards Europe for not directly cutting itself off of Russian energy imports. He said in times of crisis the governments of nations will only try to look out for the best of its people. His comments came at an event where his UK counterpart Elizabeth Truss was also present.
India’s former envoy to the United Nations Syed Akbaruddin also in a tweet said that Singh’s comments did not sound as if it came from a friend or friendly nation. “So this is our friend. This is not the language of diplomacy. This is the language of coercion. Somebody tell this young man that punitive unilateral economic measures are a breach of customary international law,” he said in a tweet. Journalist for news agency the Hindu, Stanly Johny, also in a tweet pointed out that no one rushed to help India when there were clashes in Galwan.
“”If China breaches LAC again, Russia will not come running to India’s defence”: US deputy NSA Daleep Singh. Did anyone, for that matter, come running to India’s defence in 2020?,” Johny said. He posted another tweet where he said that India is not a client state of a great power. “India is not a client state of any great power. It’s not part of any alliance system. The world’s 2nd most populous country & the 7th largest economy, it would not like to be told in public what it should do and what it shouldn’t. Daleep Singh missed this vital point in Delhi,” he opined.
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