[🇮🇳] Modi Can’t Afford to Cut Ties with Trump

[Vsdoc]

@Jiangnan
@Bilal9 @Vsdoc @Lulldapull

Modi caved in

He corrected his own chtyapa.

 

[Jiangnan]

@Jiangnan
@Bilal9 @Vsdoc @Lulldapull

Modi caved in

Don't tag me in threads about Dalits masturbating.

 

[Jiangnan]

Time
Modi Can’t Afford to Cut Ties with Trump

View attachment 22082

Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping, President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, and India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi speak to each other before the start of the meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit 2025 in Tianjin, China on September 01, 2025.© Anadolu—Getty Images

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Tianjin, China grabbed the world’s attention this weekend. Much of the commentary was centered on the presence of India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who visited China for the first time in seven years. Photographs from Tianjin showed Modi with China’s Xi Jinping and Russia’s Vladimir Putin.

This prompted two lines of narrative. The first was that Modi, stung by President Donald Trump’s imposition of steep tariffs on India exports to the U.S., was pivoting toward China: Trump had pushed an American friend into the arms of America’s enemy. The second was that Modi’s arrival in Tianjin signaled the emergence of a new global alliance—led by China, supported by Russia and India—against the U.S.

My view: Both of these conclusions are too hasty, and fail to reckon with the cold economic and geopolitical reality that India can’t afford to cut ties with the U.S.

Now, there’s no gainsaying that Trump’s behavior toward India has been despicable. There’s credible reporting to suggest that the U.S. president’s imposition of 50% tariffs on Indian exports was in large part the product of spite.

Having falsely claimed credit for brokering a ceasefire between India and Pakistan earlier this year, Trump wanted Modi to publicly express gratitude—and to nominate him for the Nobel Peace Prize. Pakistan’s prime minister had done so, but Modi refused to play ball, infuriating Trump.

The tariffs, accompanied by scornful rhetoric from Trump about India’s “dead economy,” made it hard for Modi to sustain a longstanding narrative that he had developed a special friendship with the American leader. For months, officials in New Delhi had been crowing that their prime minister was Trump’s main man in Asia, and that the U.S. regarded India as an essential bulwark against China.

Now, Trump has shown how little he cares for Modi—and for India.

It is reasonable to assume that Modi might not have gone to Tianjin if the tariff negotiations had gone differently. For one thing, he has long regarded Xi with suspicion bordering on hostility, and had refrained from visiting India’s giant neighbor to demonstrate unhappiness at China’s policies toward India. These include economic, military, and diplomatic support for Pakistan and aggressive claims on Indian territory, accompanied by land grabs and clashes along the border.

For another, Modi would not have relished having to rub shoulders with many of the other attendees, such as Pakistan’s Shehbaz Sharif and Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan; the latter was recently denounced by New Delhi for taking sides with Islamabad during the India-Pakistan mini war in February. Most of the countries represented at the summit were represented by autocrats of one or other description—such as Iran’s Masoud Pezeshkian and Belarus’s Aleksandr Lukashenko.

The presence of India’s prime minister provided some democratic gloss to this parade of pariahs. (Indonesia’s Prabowo Subianto was a late cancellation.) This served Xi’s ego—much more than a Nobel nomination would have sated Trump’s—as well as his geopolitical ambitions. It would have pleased Putin, too, since the Russian leader could claim to have brought the Asian giants closer.

In effect, Modi had gone from being America’s main man to playing third banana at China’s banquet. No amount of mugging before the cameras in Tianjin could mask the comedown this represents.

But that doesn’t mean India is pivoting away from the U.S. in an eastwardly direction. The bald reality is that it simply can’t afford to do so.

It’s the economy, stupid. India’s exports to the U.S., closing in on $90 billion annually, far exceed its exports to all the members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, taken together. Xi and Putin can smile in Modi’s general direction, but they can’t make up for the loss in export revenues that will result from Trump’s tariffs. China and Russia want to sell more to India, not buy more from it.

It’s also the geopolitics, stupid. For all the talk of the Chinese dragon and the Indian elephant joining in an embrace, the fact remains that Beijing views New Delhi as a rival—more like an uppity competitor—in need of occasional smackdowns. China will remain Pakistan’s primary patron, and will continue to claim large swaths of Indian territory. Nor is India likely to walk away from military alliances with the U.S. and other Asian nations, alliances that Beijing regards as unfriendly but New Delhi views as existential.

For these reasons alone, Modi knows he cannot stray too far from Washington’s orbit. He will need to find a face-saving way to make up with Trump: India’s economy and security depend on it.

India was brought into the SCO by Russia. After being severely humiliated by the US, Modi tried to seek support in the SCO. But I think China may just want to play tricks with India.

The main reasons are as follows:

After being humiliated by the US, India was forced to seek support from the SCO. It lacks credibility and sincerity.

India's international policy is wavering. It lacks credibility. Once the US gives India a bone, India will immediately betray the SCO.

India lacks strength and international status. It cannot help SCO, but it needs SCO's help.

But would you help someone who could betray you at any time?

 

[Krishna with Flute]

@Krishna with Flute

Modi is a shrewd politician. He will keep balance and play the card accordingly. In some time, you will see him meeting Trump with same enthusiasm as he used to meet him before.

 

[Vsdoc]

Modi is a shrewd politician. He will keep balance and play the card accordingly. In some time, you will see him meeting Trump with same enthusiasm as he used to meet him before.

Then he is a bigger chtya than I gave him credit for being.

 

[Sharma Ji]

Then he is a bigger chtya than I gave him credit for being.

your whole:

'hum karein to chamatkar, aap karein toh...' line is getting stale, Doc.

La Dinastia frontman MMS ki deal wahwah-kari le layak.

but Modi ka pivot, very bad very bad ?

typical chamchhuddin behavior, this.

 

[Bilal9]

India was brought into the SCO by Russia. After being severely humiliated by the US, Modi tried to seek support in the SCO. But I think China may just want to play tricks with India.

The main reasons are as follows:

After being humiliated by the US, India was forced to seek support from the SCO. It lacks credibility and sincerity.

India's international policy is wavering. It lacks credibility. Once the US gives India a bone, India will immediately betray the SCO.

India lacks strength and international status. It cannot help SCO, but it needs SCO's help.

But would you help someone who could betray you at any time?

Yes I am afraid your assessment is correct.

Modi lacks the backbone/principle of Indian politicians and leaders who preceded him and who were very instrumental in the non-aligned movement and other fora.

With Modi (and also his party stalwarts who are fickle and in my opinion not as astute in int'l political gamesmanship) he has lost his int'l credibility and trust.

But Modi has no option other than run to the SCO. With Trump and US his relationship is irreversibly damaged. He will take anything he can get.

In the future the other shoe will drop from the US, meaning

a) US sanctions for India buying/using Russian crude (by Modi's friend and financier Adani, who operates the sanctioned oil refineries), and

b) US sanctions for India joining BRIC and the effort for de-dollarization.

There may be additional sanctions on India for joining the SCO.

India and Modi are softer targets as seen by the US/Trump (no leverage), hence the tougher treatment than Russia or China.

 

[Krishna with Flute]

Then he is a bigger chtya than I gave him credit for being.

Does your credit or discredit count?

 

[Bilal9]

Modi is a shrewd politician. He will keep balance and play the card accordingly. In some time, you will see him meeting Trump with same enthusiasm as he used to meet him before.

You cannot (like we say in Bengali) "put two legs in two boats". The height of stupidity.

This is not how you earn trust in this world. People will see you and the country you lead - as untrustworthy.

Pick a side (which suits you best), and keep it that way.

 

[Krishna with Flute]

You cannot (like we say in Bengali) "put two legs in two boats". The height of stupidity.

This is not how you earn trust in this world. People will see you and the country you lead - as untrustworthy.

Pick a side (which suits you best), and keep it that way.

You should have advised this to your politicians who talks on balancing of relationship with India and China all the time. Our foreign policy had done exceedingly well in Modi's time.

 

[Krishna with Flute]

Yes I am afraid your assessment is correct.

Modi lacks the backbone/principle of Indian politicians and leaders who preceded him and who were very instrumental in the non-aligned movement and other fora.

With Modi (and also his party stalwarts who are fickle and in my opinion not as astute in int'l political gamesmanship) he has lost his int'l credibility and trust.

But Modi has no option other than run to the SCO. With Trump and US his relationship is irreversibly damaged. He will take anything he can get.

In the future the other shoe will drop from the US, meaning

a) US sanctions for India buying/using Russian crude (by Modi's friend and financier Adani, who operates the sanctioned oil refineries), and

b) US sanctions for India joining BRIC and the effort for de-dollarization.

There may be additional sanctions on India for joining the SCO.

India and Modi are softer targets as seen by the US/Trump (no leverage), hence the tougher treatment than Russia or China.

Lots of contradiction in your post. First you said that Modi has no backbone and than you discuss sanctions on India by US on tariff issue. How can both be true at the same times?

World has seen Modi's backbone multiple times, whether it's in dealing with US in the matter of CATSA, importing oil from Iran, buying S400 from Russia, oil import from Russia, humiliating China on LAC in Chumar, Doklam and Galwan or Bringing China's puppy Pakistan on its knees in less than 4 days. He has set new benchmark of foreign policy. That is the reason you guys try your best to demonize him out of envy.

 

[Bilal9]

Lots of contradiction in your post. First you said that Modi has no backbone and than you discuss sanctions on India by US on tariff issue. How can both be true at the same times?

World has seen Modi's backbone multiple times, whether it's in dealing with US in the matter of CATSA, importing oil from Iran, buying S400 from Russia, oil import from Russia, humiliating China on LAC in Chumar, Doklam and Galwan or Bringing China's puppy Pakistan on its knees in less than 4 days. He has set new benchmark of foreign policy. That is the reason you guys try your best to demonize him out of envy.

Whatever you say Krishan Dada.

We all have eyes and ears.

 

[Bilal9]

You should have advised this to your politicians who talks on balancing of relationship with India and China all the time. Our foreign policy had done exceedingly well in Modi's time.

If you say so....

 

[Krishna with Flute]

Whatever you say Krishan Dada.

We all have eyes and ears.

Let your mind be also open like your eyes and ears so that you understand the things in right perspective.

 

[Krishna with Flute]

your whole:

'hum karein to chamatkar, aap karein toh...' line is getting stale, Doc.

La Dinastia frontman MMS ki deal wahwah-kari le layak.

but Modi ka pivot, very bad very bad ?

typical chamchhuddin behavior, this.

When I posted an article of ex US NSA calling Trump's India policy foolish, Doc. immediately declared it a Sanghi Propaganda.

 

[Krishna with Flute]

When I posted an article of ex US NSA calling Trump's India policy foolish, Doc. immediately declared it a Sanghi Propaganda.

Phrase "Sanghi Propaganda" has become so handy, you know.

 

[Sharma Ji]

With Modi (and also his party stalwarts who are fickle and in my opinion not as astute in int'l political gamesmanship) he has lost his int'l credibility and trust.

he's doing just fine

Trump ka zamana hai, but wont be forever

 

[Sharma Ji]

India and the US have NEVER been a 'thing'

cold war, we were loosely allied to the commies.

65, 71 ... India (with Soviet help) ne bhot gaaand maari hai Paxtanis ki

filhaal every man for himself sa scene hai

250 years of empire, near expiry date

nobody knows what comes next