The bloc approach does not apply to New Delhi. This statement was made by Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in response to the US proposal to join NATO +.

"Many Americans still have this concept of the North Atlantic Treaty in their heads. Therefore, in any situations they encounter, they act as if this is the only template or point of view through which they look at the world. In reality, this pattern does not apply to India," Jaishankar stressed, commenting during a briefing on the initiative of US congressmen to make the South Asian country a new member of the NATO + format.

However, according to him, New Delhi perceives this as Washington's desire to "interact more with India."

"It's just that terminology is used because it's familiar to them. I wouldn't go too deep into the terminology. I would only appreciate the fact that the congressional commission (USA. — RT) is determined to do more business with India, and I think this is very good," he said.

Earlier, the Congressional Special Committee on Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) proposed that India join the NATO+ format.

"India's inclusion in the NATO+ security mechanism will be based on the close partnership between the United States and India in order to strengthen global security and deter CCP aggression throughout the Indo-Pacific region," the committee said in its recommendation.

Recall that the NATO+ format unites the member countries of the North Atlantic Alliance and five states allied with the United States: New Zealand, Australia, Japan, South Korea and Israel.

As US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti later noted, New Delhi, as one of Washington's closest partners, will need to decide whether to join the NATO + group. According to Garcetti, Washington assesses this issue and other aspects of cooperation as promising. He also stressed that in the context of "Indo-Pacific cooperation", Washington and New Delhi "have established ties."

"The United States is the eastern frontier, and here in India is the western border of our common region, where we want to respect freedoms, ensure our security," the diplomat said in an interview with the Indian television channel WION.

As the American ambassador added, Washington and New Delhi are building up their partnership in the defense sector, which "seemed unthinkable 30-40 years ago," and sometimes such interaction is even closer than with some of America's closest allies. We are talking, in particular, about joint production, as well as the ability to "sell important systems to ensure India's security."

"Does not bring peace and stability"

Recall that China opposes the existence and expansion of the NATO+ format. Against the backdrop of proposals from the United States to India to join this association, Chinese Defense Minister Li Shanfu announced attempts to create "NATO-like military alliances" in the Asia-Pacific region. According to him, the true purpose of such plans is "to hold the countries of the region hostage and play the card of conflicts and confrontations."

"Such attempts will only plunge the region into a maelstrom of division, disputes and conflicts," CGTN quoted him as saying at the Shangri-La Dialogue conference.

At the same time, as Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin noted at a briefing, most countries in the region do not support bloc confrontation.

"Some countries verbally talk about their freedom and openness, declare the preservation of peace and prosperity in the region, but in fact they are constantly engaged in putting together various military blocs and, in addition, are trying to push NATO eastward into the Indo-Pacific region. In this regard, the position of most countries in the region is very clear: they oppose the coalescence of various military blocs in the region, do not approve of stretching NATO's tentacles to Asia, and do not accept the spread of bloc confrontation in Asia, "Wenbin stressed.

  • An American ship in the South China Sea
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  • © U.S. Navy

Plans to spread the influence of the bloc were also appreciated in Moscow. As the press secretary of the President of Russia Dmitry Peskov recalled, in the regions where NATO is present, the stability of the situation is undermined.

"NATO does not bring peace and stability. NATO is a structure that is more likely to destabilize the situation in the regions in which it is present. We see this process this way," Peskov stated.

"For selfish purposes"

From the point of view of analysts, the true goal of Washington, which has declared its desire to join India to the NATO+ format, is to involve the Asian power in its anti-Chinese and anti-Russian course.

"However, the Indian authorities do not like it when they want to use them for personal gain. They understand the strategic importance of their country and the fact that its main values are neutrality and a balancing role. For its part, the United States is trying to involve India in the fight against China, since these states have large economies, "said Konstantin Blokhin, an employee of the Center for Security Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, in a conversation with RT.

In addition, the United States, intending to connect India to the NATO + format, is thus trying to weaken its ties with the Russian Federation.

"Washington put pressure on New Delhi after the purchase of the S-400 air defense system, as well as because of the purchase of Russian oil. However, India has demonstrated a special position in relation to the Russian Federation. Russian-Indian allied ties have been tested for strength by time since the days of the USSR. And the Indians are well aware that the United States is trying to isolate the Russian Federation, to make it an outcast," Blokhin added.

Among other things, he said, if India joins NATO+, its weight in foreign policy "will be significantly reduced."

"By joining this format, India will fall under the influence of the North Atlantic Alliance, will not be able, as before, to follow its national interests. But as long as the Indian side takes a balanced position, the West will curry favor with it, "the analyst believes.

At the same time, he expressed confidence that at this stage, Washington's strategy for rapprochement with New Delhi due to India's accession to NATO +, in fact, failed. However, Washington will not abandon its attempts to enlist the support of New Delhi in the confrontation with China and Russia, Blokhin believes.

"The confrontation between the United States and China and the Russian Federation is only escalating. At the same time, there is a struggle for allies, including in the Indo-Pacific region, and India is a tidbit in this game, "the specialist explained.

In turn, as Pavel Feldman, Candidate of Political Sciences, Associate Professor of the Academy of Labor and Social Relations, noted in an interview with RT, the statement of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of India testifies to the independence of the foreign policy of this state.

"The head of Indian diplomacy confirmed in his own words that his country has political sovereignty and does not want to return to colonial times, when the West was methodically plundering it," the expert says.

He also stressed that a similar trend towards "gaining true independence" is characteristic of many developing states that do not want to be "pawns in the big American game against Russia and China."

"They not only value their neutrality, but are also well aware that NATO in its current state cannot guarantee their security. One way or another, Washington will try to consolidate the non-Western world under the auspices of some kind of military-political alliance. And this desire will never run out, "predicts Feldman.

  • White House
  • Gettyimages.ru
  • © Barry Winiker

At the same time, he recalls that if a number of countries refuse to cooperate with the United States or go against their policies, then the Americans, as a rule, in this case resort to "blackmail, intimidation and organization of revolutions."

"It is possible that in the future the United States will talk about the need to bring to India "true democratic ideals" that require complete loyalty to the West," Feldman said.

However, in his opinion, such a strategy "only repels potential allies."

"The policy of pressure always generates opposition. The more Washington puts pressure on sovereign developing countries, the sooner they will realize the need to stand in solidarity with Moscow and Beijing in international affairs," Feldman concluded.