Best of BS Opinion: IPEF versus Rcep, covid is not over, and more

Here are the top BS Opinion articles of the day

By becoming a founding member of the Indo-Pacific Economic Forum (IPEF), India has indicated that it is willing to participate in a US-led grouping that is meant to contain China. But, as Jaimini Bhagwati points out, IPEF has military ramifications not least because it includes the four participants of the Quad security dialogue. India would do well to balance its interests in the region, as Japan has done, and become a member of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCECP) that does not include the US. Plurilateral groupings that are trade related or strategic can be useful, he suggests