I consider this "neutrality" position both specious and pernicious.<p>This is a clear cut case of aggressive war, a war of conquest to expand borders, what Nuremberg trials judged as the supreme international crime. Countries claiming they are "neutral" belies their position on more important prior agreements. U.N. Charter article 2(5) applies, and India and China are frankly not doing enough. They are weakening their own sincerity, and the international institutions we need.<p>If the U.N. system is being unwound, and I think it may be because having nuclear weapons is a more effective deterrent than the U.N. Security Council, the next causality will be the Nuclear non-Proliferation Treaty. In 1994, Poland insisted on joining NATO otherwise they were going to start a nuclear weapons program, because they didn't trust Russia. They weren't alone.<p>China and India's "neutrality" might be just enough non-coercive force that the war lasts longer, turning Ukraine into rubble. And what will Ukraine and other countries conclude? That the international community isn't at all effective at stopping wars of aggression, and they should probably develop nuclear weapons. In effect, "neutrality" incentivizes long term nuclear proliferation.<p>I don't see how nuclear proliferation is in the long term security of any country on earth. They are a deterrent up to a point, but I suspect the more nukes there are the greater the chance they're going to be used.
I remember the time India had to pay for its Iranian oil (which btw. now is currently down to 0)<p>Surprise, surprise it had to do the payments through German banks, which btw is part of NATO.<p>It is a bit hypocritical for the west to expect India to act as a client state while NATO states like Germany continue to buy Russian gas.