India unreliable ally that spies, switches sides and undermines partners: Report
New Delhi: India’s pursuit of strategic partnerships with Russia, the United States, and Israel exposes the contradictions in its foreign policy.
According to Kashmir Media Service, this phenomenon raises serious questions about New Delhi’s credibility, commitment to international law, and democratic image
India markets itself as the world’s largest democracy while treating alliances like disposable commodities and systematically undermining partners with the latest 2025-26 data.
Profit over principle
From Russian oil purchases during the Ukraine war to cooperation with Israel amid Palestinian suffering, India prioritizes strategic interests over proclaimed principles.
During the Ukraine war India repeatedly abstained on UN resolutions and expanded trade with Moscow, proving it prioritises profit over principle.
It continued buying vast volumes of Russian oil into 2025-26, with peaks exceeding 2.6–2.8 million barrels per day in mid-2026 and Russia frequently remaining a top supplier.
The same pattern holds with Iran where historical large-scale oil imports were dialled back under sanctions pressure yet strategic options were kept open.
World’s second-largest arms importer
SIPRI data for 2021–25 confirms India remains the world’s second-largest arms importer with 8.2–8.3 percent of global share, behind only war-torn Ukraine. Russia is still supplying around 40 percent, France 29 percent and Israel 15 percent. India arms itself as a major war machine, lectures Europe and the West about democracy, then faces documented human-rights criticisms over Kashmir, minorities and free speech.
In the Middle East India deepens defence and intelligence ties with Israel even as the Gaza death toll surpassed 74,000 Palestinians by October 2026. It is despite 7.6 million out of 9 million Indian workers dominate Gulf labour markets and channel tens of billions in annual remittances home.
From CSIS to CIA
Security agencies across the West and the Gulf continue to treat Indian intelligence as a direct threat in 2025/26.Canada’s CSIS 2025 annual report still lists India among the main perpetrators of foreign interference and transnational repression.
The United States prosecuted an alleged Indian-linked plot against Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in New York. Australia expelled multiple RAW operatives after they targeted defence technology, politicians and the diaspora, as reported by Australian media and intelligence assessments.
Germany convicted Indian nationals of spying on Sikh and Kashmiri communities for RAW in German courts.
In Qatar eight former Indian Navy officers were arrested on espionage charges in 2022; most were released by 2024 after death sentences were commuted, though one remained detained into 2026, as per Qatari court proceedings.
It is serial opportunism
Observers say this is not non-alignment; it is serial opportunism, extraterritorial aggression and repeated violation of international norms.
An ally that refuses to pick a side and actively endangers partners is simply waiting for the highest bidder and every capital in 2025/26 knows it, the report added
