The day the government announced Prime Minister Narendra Modi upcoming Poland and Ukraine visits, Russian Navy chief Admiral Alekseyevich Moiseyev landed in India. Moiseyev arrived in India on Monday, and held talks with India’s Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan.
Modi will visit Ukraine on August 23. The visit of Moiseyev and the upcoming Ukraine tour of Modi assume critical significance as India tries to strike a balance in its diplomacy. India has a long-standing strategic partnership with Russia, which is also its leading defence supplier, and New Delhi has also spoken against the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, with Modi telling Russia’s President Vladimir Putin that “solutions can’t be found on the battlefield”. While India has spoken against war and sent multiple consignments of humanitarian aid to Ukraine, it has not condemned Russia like Kyiv’s Western aid contributors.
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Moiseyev is in India till August 22 to explore new avenues to strengthen maritime cooperation between the two countries. Besides meeting CDS General Chauhan, Moiseyev also held discussions with Navy chief Admiral Dinesh Tripathi on Monday.
The Russian navy chief’s visit has another dimension of strategic balance. India has been closely monitoring the growing proximity between Russia and China, which is trying to flex its muscles in the Indo-Pacific region to distort the rule-based order that has governed the region for decades. China’s growing assertiveness on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with India has New Delhi also concerned about its border security. China has been trying to create strategic imbalances in countries surrounding India — from Pakistan to the Maldives to Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal.
In their talks, Admiral Moiseyev and General Chauhan “underscored the mutual commitment towards enhancing maritime security, deepening strategic cooperation and fostering a stronger defence partnership between the two nations”, the Times of India reported quoting an official.
“The visit is a testimony to the longstanding relationship between the navies of Russia and India. The visit aims to strengthen bilateral naval relations, as also to explore new avenues for naval cooperation,” the paper said.
A Press Information Bureau (PIB) release said, “The visit is a testimony to the longstanding relationship between the navies of Russia and India. The visit aims to strengthen bilateral naval relations between India and Russia, as also to explore new avenues for naval cooperation.”
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In their meeting, Admiral Moiseyev and Admiral Tripathi discussed collaborative mechanisms and measures to further strengthen Navy to Navy cooperation. Moiseyev was received with a ceremonial Guard of Honour at the South Block Lawns.
“The Indian Navy cooperates with the Russian Federation Navy on many fronts, which include operational interactions, training, hydrographic cooperation, and exchange of Subject Matter Experts in various fields through the IRIGC M&MTC mechanism between the two countries,” the PIB release said.
“The Indian Navy has also been interacting with the Russian Federation Navy in various multilateral fora viz. IONS (Indian Ocean Naval Symposium), MILAN, IORA (Indian Ocean Rim Association), WPNS (Western Pacific Naval Symposium) and ADMM-Plus (ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus),” the official statement said.
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Moiseyev is also scheduled to visit the Western Naval Command and Mazagon Docks in Mumbai. It comes ahead of the delivery of two guided-missile frigates being built in Russia for India.
The ongoing Russia-Ukraine war has led to a delay in the delivery of the frigates and the remaining two squadrons of the five S-400 Triumf air defence missile systems for the Indian Air Force.
Moiseyev was appointed Russia’s navy chief earlier this year after his predecessor on the Black Sea Fleet was sacked over repeated hits on the Black Sea Fleet and the drowning of a warship by Ukraine in March.