Asian giants have great cooperation potential

The bonhomie on display between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian President Pranab Mukherjee, along with Russian President Vladimir Putin during the celebrations to mark the 70th anniversary of the victory of Allied forces over Nazi Germany in World War II provides an interesting backdrop for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to China from May 14 to 16.

For the first time, Russian soldiers marched with units of People's Liberation Army and Indian armed forces, which reflected that the Russia-China-India strategic triangle (all three countries are incidentally members of BRICS) has gained special significance in face of the Western boycott of the celebrations in Moscow.

India's foreign policy is known for continuity rather than change. Most formulations, therefore, still continue to be grounded in the Nehruvian paradigm (the policies followed by India's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru) seeking peace through dialogue and steering clear of military alliances. Modi did initially seek to make a major departure from the policy, but other than his accelerated pace of foreign visits there has been no change in its content. India's power elite continues to agree that India needs to seek a fruitful engagement with China and is willing to play the role of a partner.