India's $5.4 billion deal to buy Russia's S-400 Triumf antimissile system is a game-changer not only from a military perspective but also in terms of defining the rules of engagement of its relations with Moscow, Washington and Beijing.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's high-profile hosting of Russian President Vladimir Putin in New Delhi on Oct. 5 and their joint announcement of the missile agreement, along with other defense and energy accords, have dispelled doubts that India might succumb to pressure from the U.S. to distance itself from its decades-old military partnership with Russia.
