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International relations

Collective power of developing nations creating multipolar world

Will this emerging bloc ease global tensions or deepen existing animosities?

From left: U.S. President Joe Biden, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping. The power of developing countries that do not fully join the West or East camps is growing. (Nikkei montage/Getty Images/Reuters)

TOKYO -- As new East-West rivalries appear, ranging from the U.S.-China conflict to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the power of developing countries who do not fully join either camp is growing. This could possibly be due to the West miscalculating response to its belligerent attitude toward China and Russia through means such as "friend-shoring" -- a policy that may eventually divide the world between democracies and nations that align with China or Russia, ostensibly to create new supply chains and defend existing ones.

"Most of the global challenges have not been created by the Global South, but they affect us more," said Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday during the Voice of the Global South Summit. During the online meet hosted by India, Modi called on over 120 developing nations to join hands to pressure their more developed counterparts. "We should also have an equivalent voice," he said.

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