Don’t push India too hard on Russia: MP

Applying too much public pressure on India to call out Russian aggression against Ukraine and apply Western sanctions could be counterintuitive, one Labor MP says.

Peter Khalil, who sits on federal parliament’s intelligence and security committee, says India is in a complex strategic space with Russia, which is a massive arms supplier and provides military equipment like missile defence systems crucial for deterrence against China and Pakistan.

“India is in the middle of making a strategic choice. It has been for a while,” Mr Khalil told AAP.

“My argument is Russia is not a long term partner for India given (Russian President Vladimir) Putin’s actions.”

It comes as concerns have been raised over India’s handling of the invasion, with New Delhi not condemning Russia.

India was one of 35 states that abstained from a resolution condemning Russia’s invasion during an emergency session of the UN General Assembly.

Mr Khalil said a history of non-alignment, popularised in the 1950s and 1960s, was not compatible with the current paradigm.

Germany, which traditionally blocked the sending of lethal weapons to conflict zones, and Switzerland, long the benchmark for neutrality, have both broken from historical practices to support Ukraine.

“The circumstances have changed,” he said.

A united global response against Russia is also needed to deter future autocratic conflicts, he says.

“In broad brushstrokes, authoritarian states cannot get away with the actions (Mr) Putin has taken,” he said.

“What’s happening in Europe will impact what happens in the Indo-Pacific.”

Prime Minister Scott Morrison previously said Russia’s invasion of Ukraine wasn’t a portent for a Chinese invasion of Taiwan.

The situation in the Taiwan Strait remains tense but unchanged, he said.

“I wouldn’t want to alert or concern Australians that assumedly because of what’s occurring in the Ukraine, then B will follow A on these things. I don’t believe that,” he said in a major foreign policy speech on Monday.

“I think these situations are entirely different and the responses that would be expected in the Taiwan strait would be completely different to what has occurred in Ukraine.”

Don’t push India too hard on Russia: MP
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