WORLD NEWS | US must view India’s G20 presidency as wake-up call to its secure future

washington [US]March 14 (ANI): If Washington wants a secure future at home and in Asia, it must view India’s G20 presidency as a wake-up call, Georgia Leatherdale-Gilholy writes in The National Interest.

India is the world’s largest democracy, and while its nationalistic leanings may not align with the sensibilities of many Westerners, the basis for a mutually beneficial relationship is far richer than with China, which for decades has relied cautiously on trade.

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Jill Hawley said the G20 includes several Asian countries and the Indian presidency would of course provide a platform for regional cooperation and collaboration with countries allied to the US such as Japan and South Korea.

But while the establishment has been trumpeting alliances in East Asia, the reality is that the opportunities for these countries pale in comparison to what India has to offer in the future. Now is the time for America to look better at building new bridges rather than simply protecting old ones.

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India, which recently increased its annual military budget by about $72.6 billion and its battle-tested armed forces, is China’s only serious competitor in South and Southeast Asia, according to The National Interest.

The border standoffs at Doklam (2017) and Galwan (2020) are just two recent examples of China trying its luck on Indian sovereignty but being forced to back down.

As former Trump administration defense official Elbridge Colby pointed out, India is “the backbone of the anti-hegemony alliance in South Asia”, so the United States should do everything in its power to strengthen it.

In addition, India is also keen to roll out the SDG stimulus package to provide new investment support for low- and middle-income governments, while providing debt relief and restructuring.

New Delhi’s plans to use its G20 presidency to promote renewable energy and climate action are also promising, Gilholy said.

India will try to form a panel to tackle World Bank reforms to provide climate aid to developing economies, industry sources said. While details of such plans have yet to be confirmed, they could be a promising step toward countering China’s exploitative debt diplomacy in its sprawling Belt and Road Initiative.

India has somewhat positioned itself as the voice of the global south, while China continues to block a solution to its debt crisis, with serious repercussions for developing countries, according to The National Interest.

Moreover, its G20 presidency in early 2023 comes at a critical time for the country and the world, as it continues to suffer the financial fallout from the coronavirus response, itself a knock-on effect of Beijing’s malfeasance.

India is the fifth largest economy in the world (third largest in GP purchasing power parity terms), and unlike China, India is expected to continue expanding in the near future.

Jill Hawley said that India’s population is rapidly surpassing that of China, and it is likely to become the world’s third largest economy and “the pharmacy of the world” by the end of this century.

The G20 is the largest multilateral platform, and its members account for more than 85 percent of the world’s GDP and two-thirds of the population, and play a key role in negotiations to manage future international economic growth. (Arnie)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)