Dynamics of Vaccine Diplomacy

Diplomacy is one of the powerful nonviolent instruments of a country’s foreign policy. It is used to strengthen the state by promoting its interests in relation to other countries. Often, it is the failure of diplomacy that leads to war. Yet, even during times of conflict, diplomacy is crucial to the cessation of hostilities. Since it is principally nonviolent, diplomacy depends on words rather than weapons. And for words to shape international relations, the state exerting diplomacy needs to have sway over other states—it is the state’s power that allows it to use diplomacy to its own ends. During the current pandemic, surplus vaccines have become one of the dominant instruments of diplomacy.

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Coronavirus has killed more than 3.9 million people worldwide, infected more than 180 million, and has disrupted innumerable lives. Eventually, the rollout of the vaccine became the light at the end of the tunnel. However, vaccine distribution is not as random and widespread as the infection itself. As a result, vaccine production has given some countries a lot of diplomatic power to leverage to achieve their ends.

India grabbed the world’s attention by giving vaccines to almost all South Asian countries. At the beginning of 2021, India produced enough vaccines to send millions of doses to other countries, making it the biggest vaccine manufacturing country. The Indian government sketched a strategy for providing vaccines to its neighbors and some developing countries. India sent doses to its neighbors in South Asia: Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal.

Due to China’s immense presence in the region, India’s vaccine diplomacy is especially notable. Last year, India confronted China in a protracted border dispute which killed 20 Indian troops in Ladakh. So, by leading vaccine distribution in South Asia, India can revamp its geopolitical position against China in the region and worldwide.

For example, the country was praised by the African, Caribbean, Pacific (ACP) group at the WTO for distributing millions of doses under the Vaccine Maitri (Vaccine Friendship) initiative. The country has the advantage of being the world’s third-largest producer of pharmaceuticals and can produce cheap vaccines for low-income countries. Pfizer-BioNTech’s and Moderna’s vaccines, primarily used in the U.S. and the Global North, are expensive. And most low-income and developing countries lack the cold chain infrastructure facilities needed to store these vaccines at sub-zero temperatures. In comparison, vaccines produced in India can be stored at refrigerator temperatures.

Apart from altruism, India’s vaccine diplomacy allows it to acquire soft power and strengthens its position in the region and the world. For years, India has tried to gain a seat on the UN Security Council. By acting as a significant distributor of vaccines, it can get the support of several UN members and improve relations with big countries. For example, India supplied vaccine doses to Canada after Justin Trudeau called Narendra Modi, melting the tensions between the two countries after Trudeau commented on the protests by farmers in Delhi.

However, the second wave of the COVID pandemic in India has significantly impeded the country’s vaccine diplomacy efforts. It has deluged the healthcare infrastructure of the country and raised questions about the wisdom of vaccine diplomacy. With a sharp rise in the number of cases and deaths, India struggles to vaccinate its people.

As a result, the countries that relied on India for vaccine supplies turned to Russia and China. This change is expected to strengthen China’s foothold in the region. China sent doses to more than 80 countries, and more than 50 countries got vaccines for free. These countries include developing and low-income countries as well as essential allies like Pakistan.

Most importantly, China’s vaccine distribution contrasts with vaccine nationalism in the U.S. and the European Union. Taking advantage of this impassivity in the West, China is expanding its global influence. One striking pattern in Chinese vaccine diplomacy is that most countries to which China is shipping doses are members of its Belt and Road Initiative, an infrastructure project designed to increase Chinese economic power worldwide. Through vaccine diplomacy, China may also hope to garner support for its stance on Taiwan. Similarly, for other contentious geopolitical matters like Hong Kong, Tibet, and Xinjiang, vaccine diplomacy can buy China much-needed backing. For example, countries like Egypt supported Chinese policy in Xinjiang and received vaccine donations in return.

In the same vein, Russia also started supplying to several countries. Many European countries have now turned to Moscow for Sputnik V. Consequently, French President Emmanuel Macron calls European nations to counter the growing Russian and Chinese vaccine diplomacy in Africa. By selling or donating vaccine doses, Russia, like China, is gaining prominence in the world. The two countries are duly filling the vacuum created by the West’s vaccine nationalism. Moreover, it is paving the way for the two countries to gain weight in the Global South.

Another major contender of expanding influence through vaccine diplomacy is Israel. Israel has successfully vaccinated more than half of its population, and Benjamin Netanyahu shipped vaccine doses to nations in Africa and Latin America to build international ties. However, the country has come under criticism for neglecting Palestinian territories under its control. Its vaccine diplomacy shows that Israel prefers diplomatic gains through vaccine diplomacy over vaccinating the nearly five million Palestinians under its control.

In the context of extreme vaccine inequity, vaccine diplomacy is bridging the gaps in distribution. However, it also means that many countries are buying influence and cementing existing spheres of power in the long run.