Akhil Ramesh

Opinion | How Western sanctions, economic pressures are feeding BRICS members’ ambition to be an alternative to Western bloc

Commodity price rises are increasingly seen as a product of Western sanctions on Russia, leaving those in the Global South to fend for themselves

As BRICS nations seek to help those in need while resisting Western criticism of their foreign policies, a growing desire for a parallel mechanism is becoming evident

Reading Time:3 minutes

Why you can trust SCMP

A BRICS summit meeting held by videoconference on September 9, 2021. The five countries represent nearly half of the world’s population. Photo: Press Information Bureau via AP

Akhil Ramesh

Published: 9:15am, 1 Jun 2022

The foreign ministers of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa met virtually for the BRICS summit recently, the first since the start of the conflict in Ukraine.

This summit was unique for a number of reasons. First, there had been growing speculation that India would not attend because of its differences with China and warming ties with the United States.

Second, the summit brought together the five nations to discuss security and responses to global crises, among other issues, just as three of them – Russia, India and China – were facing crises at home. India is facing double-digit inflation growth, China has been forced into strict Covid-19 lockdowns and Russia’s war on Ukraine has brought its own economy to its knees.

Third, China has proposed an expansion of the BRICS grouping to include other emerging economies. Interestingly, foreign ministers or their representatives from Argentina, Egypt, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Nigeria, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Senegal and Thailand joined this year’s summit.

Putting an end to the rumours, India did attend the summit and its policy of multi-alignment remains unshaken. However, the other two developments signal the group’s rapidly growing significance and show an attempt to create an alternative bloc to the post-war Western system.

The actions of BRICS nations, individually more than collectively, such as helping countries in need and resisting Western criticism of their foreign policies, suggest a growing desire for a parallel mechanism.