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    OPINION                                                                   JULY 03, 2026    |  The Indian Eye 10

                         Strengthening the Nested

            Geometry of RIC–SCO–BRICS

              The three groupings together address the three reference points: strategic autonomy,

                                               strategic balancing and the Global South

            PRASHANT KUMAR SINGH

                  ussian President Vladimir
                  Putin, on the sidelines of the
            RSaint Petersburg Econom-
            ic Forum on 4 June 2026, offered a
            detailed appreciation of the complex
            nature of India–China relations, their
            leaders’ commitment to improving
            bilateral ties, the positive results they
            have produced, and Russia’s con-
            structive ties with both. Responding
            to the statement, China’s foreign
            ministry spokesperson remarked that
            “maintaining sound relations is not
            only in the respective interests of the
            three countries but also conducive to
            regional and global peace, security,
            stability and prosperity”. China was
            “ready to keep in communication
            with Russia and India on advancing
            cooperation among the three coun-
            tries” These statements were seen
            as signs of willingness to revive the
            dormant Russia–India–China (RIC)        There is significant overlap among the three organisations in their membership, operating geographies and agendas (File photo)
            cooperation framework.
                                              South would explain its robust en-  Goldman Sachs report that proposed   in the region” and to jointly “address
            While the Government of India     gagement with them.               a BRIC grouping, comprising Brazil,   new challenges and threats”, with the
                                                                                Russia, India and China.
                                                                                                                  Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure
            remains  non-committal,  there          The Nested Geometry             However, institutionally this   (RATS) as the main security body.
                                                     of RIC–SCO–BRICS
            is a perceptible undercurrent           he three reference points ex-  idea was first taken up at the first in-  However, its agenda has evolved to
                                                                                                                  include trade and the economy as
                                                                                formal RIC Summit Meeting in July
            in a section of Indian commen-          plain why India should contrib-  2006, held on the sidelines of the G-8   well, with the SCO Interbank Con-
            tators in support of reviving     Tute to the nested geometry of    St Petersburg Summit. The foreign   sortium emerging in 2005 and the
                                                                                ministers of the BRIC countries held
                                                                                                                  SCO  Business  Council  in  2006.  A
                                              RIC–SCO–BRICS. Nested geometry
            RIC as well.                      places shapes and objects inside one   an informal meeting to discuss it at   demand to establish a SCO Develop-
                                              another, showing an interconnected   the time. Later, they approved the   ment Bank has persisted since 2010.
                The backdrop is the Trump ad-  relation.  Though  the  RIC–SCO–  formation of BRIC in September   At the 2025 SCO Summit, the mem-
            ministration’s unpredictability in in-  BRICS may not be technically nest-  2006 on the sidelines of the UNGA,   ber states resolved to consult on mat-
            ternational affairs; the internation-  ed,  a  natural  close  connection  does   which later became BRICS with the   ters related to this issue.
            al fallout  from  the  US–Israel–Iran   exist among them.           inclusion of South Africa in 2010.    There  is  significant  overlap
            war; and the visible improvement      The  three  groupings  emerged    The Shanghai-5 process that be-  among the three organisations in
            in India–China ties. India’s BRICS   roughly during the same period in   gan in 1996 for “confidence-building   their  membership, operating  geog-
            Presidency this year provides an   the post-Cold War era. The RIC   in the military sphere and the mutu-  raphies and agendas. The three RIC
            opportune context for serious con-  emerged  to  manage  the  challenge   al reduction of armed forces in the   countries are among the four found-
            sideration  of this  proposition  and   of US unipolarity. It began as a for-  border area” among China, Russia,   ing members of BRICS. The two
            to strengthen the nested geome-   eign-minister-level dialogue, an in-  Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajiki-  RIC countries, Russia and China, are
            try of RIC–SCO–BRICS. India is    formal meeting between the Russian,   stan, and later joined by Uzbekistan,   the prime movers of the SCO, where-
            an important member in the three   Indian and Chinese foreign ministers   culminated in the SCO in 2001. Its   as the third, India, though a late en-
            non-Western groupings, and its com-  on the sidelines of the UNGA in New   main goals are to promote “multi-  trant, is an important member. The
            mitments to strategic autonomy,   York in September 2002. The idea of   lateral interaction to maintain and   RIC represents the broader Eurasian
            systemic balancing and the Global   BRICS is commonly traced to a 2001   ensure  peace,  security  and  stability   Continued on next page... >>

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