India draws Gilgit-Baltistan line on emerging Russia-China axis

Maintaining its policy of strategic autonomy and carving out a distinct strategic path, defence minister Rajnath Singh's recent assertion on Gilgit-Baltistan is a reiteration of the fact that it draws a line between refusing to categorically condemn Russian action in Ukraine while hardening its attitude against a belligerent China.

Speaking in Srinagar on Wednesday at an event to mark the 1947 anniversary of Shaurya Diwas, Singh had said that India's development journey in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh will be completed only when it is extended to Gilgit and Baltistan.

The latest salvo from the defence minister is also a reflection of the fact that its Russia policy is different from its China policy despite the fact that Russia and China have developed closer relations in the backdrop of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine that is based on countering the US and its NATO allies.

India has consistently abstained from voting on UN resolutions condemning Russia on the Ukraine 'action' although PM Modi had told Putin last month at the SCO Summit at Samarkhand that "today's era is not an era of war".

India had traditionally and historically cherished close relations with Russia and is significantly dependent on the latter for its military equipment including strategic platforms.

On the other hand, India's blow-hot-blow-cold relationship with China plummeted ever since a border row that began in May 2020 escalated into a massive deployment of forces on either side of the LAC.

It is from the Gilgit-Baltistan region on the northern extreme of Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK) from where the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) begins its run.