Modi Skips ASEAN Summit In KL For Second Time

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will not attend the ASEAN summit in Kuala Lumpur. Much before MEA confirmed it, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced it in a Facebook post.

He said he had received a phone call from Modi on Wednesday evening, where the two leaders discussed the strengthening of India-Malaysia ties and went on to say:

“We also touched on the hosting of the 47th ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur at the end of this month.”

He informed that he would attend online since the Deepavali festival was still being celebrated in India at that time.’’ Foreign Minister Subramanyam Jaishakar will represent India in Malaysia.

This will only be the second time since becoming PM that Modi has skipped this important gathering of Southeast Asian leaders. In 2022, Modi sent then-Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar to Cambodia.

As US President Donald Trump is travelling to Kuala Lumpur for the meeting on Sunday, there were expectations that Modi would have a one-on-one with Trump in Malaysia. That option is now off. 

While Anwar Ibrahim spoke of extended Diwali celebrations, and sources are mentioning domestic preoccupations as well as the upcoming Bihar elections, Modi’s decision to skip the gala event is likely to avoid having a one-on-one with Trump, who could once again repeat his claims of brokering a ceasefire between India and Pakistan. India has repeatedly pushed back against that claim. In the Indian narrative, Pakistan, overwhelmed by India’s air strikes, was eager for peace.

India-US ties took a beating in August when Washington slapped 50 per cent tariffs on Indian exports. Initially, it was 25 per cent, but later another 25 per cent was added for lifting discounted Russian oil. Trump and his senior Cabinet colleagues accused India of funding Russia’s war on Ukraine. Since then, the situation has improved. President Trump called the PM to wish him on Diwali and announced that New Delhi would STOP buying Russian oil. India did not outrightly cross swords with Trump but maintained that it would buy oil from wherever possible to meet its energy demands. Trump also clarified later that it would take time for India to totally stop importing Russian oil. 

While bilateral ties between India and the US are on the mend, nothing can be taken for granted till a trade agreement is finalised. Efforts are underway, but as exports to the US are crucial, Modi does not wish to rock the boat by a premature meeting with the mercurial US leader. It is likely that the two will meet only after the bilateral agreement is signed and sealed. 

The situation would have eased considerably if  Russia-US ties had improved. With the meeting between Donald Trump and President Vladimir Putin in Budapest  now off the table, the situation has taken a turn for the worse.

Following that, on Wednesday, the US  slapped sanctions on Rosneft Oil Company (Rosneft) and Lukoil OAO  (Lukoil), two of Russia’s largest oil companies.

“Now is the time to stop the killing and for an immediate ceasefire,”  Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent said in a statement released by the US.  “Given President Putin’s refusal to end this senseless war, the Treasury is sanctioning Russia’s two largest oil companies that fund the Kremlin’s war machine. Treasury is prepared to take further action if necessary to support President Trump’s effort to end yet another war. We encourage our allies to join us in adhering to these sanctions.”

India will have to navigate carefully through this diplomatic minefield.