{"id":219363,"date":"2022-12-21T20:01:23","date_gmt":"2022-12-21T14:31:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.forumias.com\/?p=219363"},"modified":"2022-12-21T20:01:23","modified_gmt":"2022-12-21T14:31:23","slug":"the-new-normal-in-the-indo-pacific-contestation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/the-new-normal-in-the-indo-pacific-contestation\/","title":{"rendered":"The new normal in the Indo-Pacific contestation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Source<\/strong>– The post is based on the article \u201cThe new normal in the Indo-Pacific contestation\u201d <\/strong>published in The Hindu <\/strong>on 21st December 2022<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Syllabus: <\/strong>GS2- International relations<\/p>\n

Relevance<\/strong>– Indo-pacific<\/p>\n

News<\/strong>– The article explains the changes in the strategic scenario of the Indo-pacific. It also explains the future of geopolitics in this region.<\/p>\n

What are the steps taken by China to increase its outreach in the Indo-Pacific region?<\/strong><\/h5>\n

The contest for South Asia and the Indian Ocean is not new. China has long tried to mark its influence in these regions and enhance its strategic ambitions<\/strong>. It is trying to limit Indian influence<\/strong> and sustain its energy supply<\/strong> and economic growth.<\/p>\n

Beijing\u2019s outreach in South Asia increased manifold in the early 2000s with its economic boom. It began to further its strategic end<\/strong>s in the region through loans, financial incentives, and mega-infrastructure projects. This became more institutionalised <\/strong>with the launch of the Belt and Road Initiative<\/strong> in 2013.<\/p>\n

These investments enabled Beijing to access the Indian Ocean, promote political and security ties<\/strong> in the region. It has harboured military vessels and submarines, and taken certain islands and ports on lease in the Indian ocean.<\/p>\n

What are the actions taken by India and other Quad members to counter Chinese influence?<\/strong><\/h5>\n

After Galwan, New Delhi has re-energised diplomatic efforts<\/strong> in its backyard. In the Maldives, New Delhi is reciprocating President Ibrahim Solih\u2019s \u2018India First\u2019 policy<\/strong> with massive economic assistance, grants<\/strong>, and infrastructure projects. It is also cooperating on maritime security<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

In Nepal, Prime Minister Cuba’s government has attempted to improve Nepal\u2019s overall bilateral relations<\/strong> with India.<\/p>\n

In Sri Lanka, India, this year alone, has provided economic and humanitarian assistance <\/strong>and investments worth $4 billion.<\/p>\n

India\u2019s leading efforts in South Asia and the Indian Ocean have also attracted other Quad members. They are offering genuine alternatives to the BRI<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

They have also assisted Sri Lanka throughout the crisis. Japan is also finalising its talks with Sri Lanka on debt restructuring.<\/p>\n

In the Maldives, Australia and the U.S. have committed to opening their embassies and new areas of cooperation. In 2020, the U.S. signed a defence and security framework<\/strong> with the Maldives. Nepal has also ratified the U.S.\u2019s Millennium Challenge Corporation<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

How are these actions perceived by India and China?<\/strong><\/h5>\n

It is only with the Galwan clashes<\/strong> in 2020 that the Indian strategic thinking<\/strong> is deeming Beijing as a bigger threat than that of Islamabad.<\/p>\n

The possibility of a two-front war persists<\/strong>. But Pakistan\u2019s strategic isolation, economic and political fallout, and border and terror challenges emanating from Afghanistan have minimised the likelihood of its aggression.<\/p>\n

The recent success of India and its partners is unlikely to deter China from furthering its presence<\/strong> in the region. Recently, the Chinese surveillance vessel Yuan Wang-5 re-entered the Indian Ocean.<\/p>\n

Beijing also hosted its first-ever China-Indian Ocean Region Forum<\/strong>, to institutionalise its presence in the region and challenge new initiatives such as the Quad and the Colombo Security Conclave<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

What will be the strategic implication of these acts for the future of this region?<\/strong><\/h5>\n

Beijing will continue to leverage its economic and political influence<\/strong> in South Asia.<\/p>\n

South Asian countries would also hesitate to completely move away from China as they want balancing<\/strong> with China and India. It will essentially make this competition a \u2018new normal\u2019<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Such a balancing outcome<\/strong> is very likely. Most South Asian countries are now facing economic and political turmoil<\/strong>. The COVID-19 pandemic<\/strong> and Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine have continued to haunt the region.<\/p>\n

Nepal, the Maldives and Bhutan are struggling with depleting forex reserves<\/strong>. Energy shortages, inflation<\/strong>, and negative or slow economic growth are also disrupting day-to-day activities in these countries. Ongoing protests in Bangladesh are a mere indication of such upcoming challenges.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Source– The post is based on the article \u201cThe new normal in the Indo-Pacific contestation\u201d published in The Hindu on 21st December 2022. Syllabus: GS2- International relations Relevance– Indo-pacific News– The article explains the changes in the strategic scenario of the Indo-pacific. It also explains the future of geopolitics in this region. What are the… Continue reading The new normal in the Indo-Pacific contestation<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10320,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1230,9],"tags":[212,10498],"class_list":["post-219363","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-9-pm-daily-articles","category-public","tag-gs-paper-2","tag-the-hindu","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","views":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/219363","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10320"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=219363"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/219363\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=219363"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=219363"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=219363"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}