From Great Powers to Asia – India is raising its diplomatic game

Source– The post is based on the article “From Great Powers to Asia – India is raising its diplomatic game” published in “The Indian Express” on 19th July 2023.

Syllabus : GS 2- International Relations

Relevance : Indian renewed approach towards the major powers and regional geopolitics

News – The article explains the India approach towards its Asian neighbourhood in context of its relationship with major powers.

What is the current Indian approach on regional geopolitics in the context of its relationship with major powers?

There was emphasis on India’s neighborhood during Modi’s visit to Washington and Paris. In France, Modi and Macron issued a declaration on the Indo-Pacific Roadmap for wide-ranging cooperation.

First time, India agreed to work together with a former European colonial power in the Indian Ocean. India discarded the main principle of Indian foreign policy that colonial and “extra-regional” powers should be kept out of the Indian Ocean.

Modi and Macron have expanded the Indian Ocean regional framework to include the Pacific. The Indo-Pacific Roadmap issued by the two leaders declared that Delhi and Paris will “continue to work together to extend development cooperation to countries in the region, including in Africa, the Indian Ocean Region, South Asia, Southeast Asia and the Pacific”.

Both leaders agreed for more cooperation with regional partners in bilateral, plurilateral and multilateral arrangements like the Indian Ocean Rim Association, the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium, the Indian Ocean Commission.

Ino-pacific plays a very important role in India’s strategic partnership with Washington today. The joint statement issued by Modi and US President Joe Biden last month talks about strategic cooperation in the Indo-Pacific through the Quad.

Modi and Biden agreed for closer cooperation with regional platforms such as the Indian Ocean Rim Association, Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative, and ASEAN in the Indo-Pacific Region”.

Both leaders supported the enhanced consultations between the two governments on regional issues including South Asia, the Indo-Pacific and East Asia.

What was India’s approach towards its Asian neighbourhood after independence?

India’s relations with its Asian neighbourhood since independence were treated as separate from Delhi’s engagement with the great powers. There was a thought among policymakers that the major powers should be kept out of the region to create an “area of peace” in Asia.

Delhi lacked the authority to prevent major powers from entering the region or to discourage its Asian neighbours from aligning with external powers.

But, India did not change its stance. Notions such as “Asia for Asians” and “Indian Ocean security without the Superpowers” continued to dominate Indian thinking.

Delhi insisted that the primary requirement for membership in the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) was the absence of foreign military bases on national territory.

Delhi disregarded the fact that most threats to a nation’s sovereignty arise from issues with neighbouring countries.

India’s unrealistic principles of regional security were further compounded by the economic radicalism espoused in the NAM and G-77 forums. It pushed India further away from the realities of the Asian region.

How did India policy change after the Cold War?

There were compulsions in India to liberalise its economy.

Its regional engagement with different parts of Asia and the Indian Ocean acquired a higher priority.

There was renewed focus on trade, investment and connectivity in bilateral relations with its neighbours in Asia.

India also deviated from its earlier policy of keeping political distance from the major powers. It collaborated with Moscow to promote a “multipolar world” through the Russia-India-China (RIC) forum and later via the BRICS.

India also deviated from its earlier policy of keeping the region and the world separate. It acquired the membership of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation led by Russia and China to keep the US out of their backyard.

Delhi also joined the Indo-Pacific framework and the Quad due to its deteriorating relationship with China

India joined forces with Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States to establish the I2U2 forum in the Western context.

It is evident that India’s strategic partnerships with Western powers are gaining more prominence compared to its engagement with Russia and China.

Delhi now adopts an integrated approach to its interests and pursues them through new and overlapping forums.

As Foreign Minister Jaishankar conveyed to Southeast Asian leaders in Jakarta recently, the Quad complements the efforts of the ASEAN and the institutions led by it.