BRICS aims to serve as credible alternative to existing world order — newspaper

The BRICS countries are gradually stepping in to fill a growing soft-power vacuum that has emerged due to US President Donald Trump's policy of pulling out of international organizations and alienating other nations with tariffs, the Japanese newspaper The Japan Times reported.

The BRICS group is striving to become a credible alternative to the current international order amid Washington's actions, the newspaper said. This was underscored by the two-day BRICS Summit that concluded in Rio de Janeiro on Monday. The participants took a firm stance on strengthening multilateralism, tackling climate change, and setting international standards for artificial intelligence governance. The summit demonstrated that BRICS "is becoming an authoritative voice for the Global South," the paper wrote, citing Sebastian Maslow, an associate professor at the University of Tokyo.

Washington appears to be stepping back in several areas, the expert noted. During Trump's second presidential term, the US has withdrawn from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Paris Agreement on climate change, "undermined the World Trade Organization, engaged in unilateral military action against Iran and scaled back international aid," he said. According to Maslow, the emphasis that the BRICS members place on multilateral cooperation and development can be viewed as "an attempt to fill the global governance vacuum" created by the Trump administration.

While the United States is becoming "increasingly unpredictable" due to its trade policy based on the "America First" principle, BRICS upholds the international trade order, its rules and norms, the expert added.

The BRICS group was established in 2006 by Brazil, Russia, India and China, with South Africa joining in 2011. On January 1, 2024, Egypt, Iran, the United Arab Emirates and Ethiopia joined the bloc. Indonesia became a BRICS member on January 6. Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, Uganda, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam are BRICS partner countries.

The BRICS Summit was held in Rio de Janeiro on July 6-7. Alongside the group members and partner states, countries like Mexico, Turkey, Uruguay, and Chile took part in the event. The participants mainly focused on healthcare, trade, investment, and finance, and addressed issues of climate change, artificial intelligence governance, and the promotion of peace and security.