The importance of being neighbourly
India is subtly adding four new elements in the policy matrix
India is subtly adding four new elements in the policy matrix
India's foreign policy under the second Modi government will take account of a turbulent world in which the old verities are disappearing and domestic political compulsions exert overwhelming influence on external postures
China’s large investments in Sri Lanka, Pakistan and the Maldives and the economic dependence this creates make it impervious to the internal political upheavals in these countries. This blog explores how it will retain its influence in Sri Lanka regardless of how the turmoil is resolved
The current political unrest in Sri Lanka and coups in Maldives and Zimbabwe bear a Chinese imprint. China’s use of strong-arm tactics smacks of the very behaviour that it had earlier criticised in former colonial powers
TIMES NOW featured our Distinguished Fellow in Foreign Policy Studies, Amb. Rajiv Bhatia on their show to discuss the fourth BIMSTEC Summit. Watch the full episode here.
The 21-year-old regional organisation, which will hold its fourth summit on August 30-31, was formed because of the opportunities to make headway in economic and social development through cooperation, but it has achieved modest success. It has a relevance independent of SAARC or ASEAN and goals of its own to pursue
Yuan Peng, Vice President, and Dr. HU Shisheng, director, respectively of the Institute of South & Southeast Asian and Oceanian Studies, China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, Beijing, spoke to Gateway House about working towards ‘the final goal of denuclearisation’, India-China relations since the Doklam stand-off and addressing security concerns raised by the Belt and Road Initiative
The high cost and political impact of Chinese-funded infrastructure in countries like Myanmar, Malaysia and Sri Lanka make it imperative for India to work with Japan to provide alternatives, to ensure that the region is neither bankrupted nor militarised by Chinese influence.
"The current Sri Lankan government has said that it will not permit military use of the facility, but that could change," said Amit Bhandari, an analyst at Mumbai-based Gateway House. "Ninety-nine years is a long time after all."
India and the world have watched China’s growing investment in Asia and beyond with a mix of awe and apprehension. The unprecedented scale of these investments are reshaping political arrangements around South Asia.