US plans to withdraw from INF treaty with Russia, what will it result into?

Recently, President Donald Trump announced that the US would withdraw from bilateral treaty called the intermediate-range nuclear forces treaty, which it initially signed with Soviet Union in 1987 and after the collapse of Soviet Union, the treaty was sustained with Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan. The treaty prohibits all these countries to manufacture and test as well as eliminate all nuclear and conventional ground ballistic missiles, cruise missile and launchers, which range from 500 km to 5500 km. The treaty eliminated approximately 2700 short, medium and intermediate range missiles from both the superpowers. In recent times, both the US and Russia have alleged that the other has violated the INF treaty, which was the main reason of withdrawing from the treaty according to President Donald Trump. However, US has stated that it would continue the treaty if China signed the treaty. This clearly shows that China is a threat to the US both economically and militarily. With China’s military and defense getting stronger and its economic influence getting larger, it is challenging the current American regime. The country has withdrawn from many deals like the Iran Nuclear Deal, Paris Accords etc., it has even threatened to leave World Trade Organisation (WTO) and North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

The question arises whether US is trying to isolate itself into being self-sufficient or is it a big power play move to pull Russia out of the strategic partnership with China. This move threatens a nuclear arms race starting again between US, Russia and China, lead back to the cold war era.  European countries and Asian countries will face the immediate consequences if the treaty collapses. The treaty made the US allies in Europe safe from Russia. With the fall of this treaty, Russia might gain back European territories like it did with Crimea. US can also create military and naval bases in Asia and Europe to threaten Russia and China from making any move against its allies and US. This situation puts tension on the European and Asian continents. Furthermore, the US can threaten Russia directly by placing its nuclear forces in Europe. In addition, US bases in Asia can be a threat to China. However, the security of Russia and China depends upon the steps taken by the US.

In my opinion, India should continue to stay non-aligned and not be caught in the crossfire. Very recently, India has improved its defense through signing COMCASA with the US and purchasing S-400 missile from Russia, doing its usual balancing act. Post-world war 2 and during the cold war, India very smartly came up with the non-alignment movement to avoid the conflict. If the history repeats itself, India will again find itself in the middle of the battleground not able to choose sides. On one hand, by signing the COMCASA agreement, US now has the means to keep check on the Indian defense as well as the Chinese movements. On the other hand, Russia and China appear to be on the same side when it comes to dealing with the US, making it impossible for India to support US. The withdrawal from INF treaty is a decision that plays important role in knowing about the global politics and strategic alliances in the future.

According to me, the European countries could also possibly join the Non-alignment moment by learning from the past events that saw World War and fall of great empires. The nuclear arms race was halted due to signing of the INF treaty but with China developing immense nuclear and conventional missiles, the nuclear arms race is on a go again. This time threatening the American empire. Russia and China together have the resources to not only threaten the American regime but also defeat it if necessary. However, US must have known the consequences of withdrawing from the deal and if it still chose to do it, it must have a plan to threaten both Russia and China with the help of its European and Asian allies.