Russia is a regional power. China is a regional power. India is a regional power. The regions in which they are regional powers overlap. Some level of conflict is inevitable. Each of them has territorial disputes with the others.
A low level shooting war between China and India has been going on for decades.
The U. S. is a global power. Our interests are not the same as Russia’s, China’s, or India’s. We will have points of agreement with each of them and points of disagreement with each of them. We have no territorial disputes with any of them. We should work with each when it makes sense for us to do so and oppose each of them when it makes sense for us to do so.
We have no permanent alliances or enemies only permanent interests.
This stuff should be obvious. Apparently, it isn’t.
India and Pakistan have joined Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgystan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan in the Shaghai Cooperation Organization, and all are participating in China’s One Belt One Road project. This group comprizes one-half of the World’s population and one-fourth of its GDP. Turkey and Iran have some sort of affiliation with the SCO, too. So, while they have had conflicts, some hot, in the past, all eight (soon 10?) countries see benefits to cooperation.
Moreover, Russia, China, India, Brazil and South Africa have long had a cooperative relationship as the BRICS, which operates as a sort of anti-G8 group.
Strategically, the eight are the core of MacKinder’s World Island. They form a natural anti-US bloc.
All eight of those countries combined aren’t nearly so powerful as the Soviet Union and its allies were.
Thinking that Russia is inevitably our enemy is just a mistake. We’ve been trying our darnedest to ensure Russia is our enemy and they’re obliging us. As long as the Chinese leadership believes that conflict between the U. S. and China is inevitable it will be.
There was a joke going around at the end of the Soviet era that described the motto of the Warsaw Pact as Russian respect for the rule of law, Polish sobriety, the might of Czech industry, East German civility, joined by a common understanding of the Hungarian language. That’s pretty much how I see the Silk Road initiative.
Russophobia appears deeply ingrained in the ruling class. They never really question it.
One more observation on the point. I think we should be much, much more worried about nuclear war breaking out between India and Pakistan or between India and China than we should be about an alliance among India, Pakistan, and China threatening us.
And another wisecrack (I think that Pundita originally said this). Imagine the Pakistanis’ surprise when they wake up one morning to learn that they’ve been Chinese all along (as the Tibetans did).
One small point of correction, India has not joined one belt one road.
My opinion is that united Chinese Russian opposition to the US will be as difficult as the 50’s / 60’s. Korea and Vietnam were the result and the reason why Nixon chose reapproachment with China.