The ‘new’ South Asia

The ‘new’ South Asia

Context

As China’s leverage increases, New Delhi has to reimagine its terms of engagement with neighbours

Background

CHOGM meet in London

 India’s declining regional clout

• There is now the refrain that India has lost the plot in its immediate vicinity
• In Sri Lanka, domestic political developments are affecting India, while in the Maldives, India has found its diminishing clout being publicly taken apart
• A vocal critic of India has assumed power in Nepal, and with a massive political mandate
• In the Seychelles, India is struggling to operationalise a pact to build a military facility

China’s influence growing in the region

• China’s clout, meanwhile, is growing markedly around India’s periphery, further constraining New Delhi’s ability to push its regional agenda.
• China’s entry into the South Asian region has opened up new avenues for smaller neighbours which can be leveraged in their dealings with India 

Problems for India’s neighborhood policy

• India’s structural dominance of South Asia makes it a natural target of resentment and suspicion which New Delhi has often found difficult to overcome
• India is also part of the domestic politics of most regional states where anti-India sentiment is often used to bolster the nationalist credentials of various political formations 

Conclusion

India will not only have to more creatively reimagine its strategic geography but also evolve new terms of engagement with its neighbours; terms which reflect the reality of our times in which both India and its neighbours can have a stake in each other’s success.