India, known for its Neighbourhood first policy, is at risk of losing it’s connect with South Asian neighbours. Discuss the various factors that led to the current situation. What India should do to reverse it? (200 words)
Refer – The Hindu
Enrich the answer from other sources, if the question demands.
IAS Parliament 6 years
KEY POINTS
Recent examples
· Maldivian President has gone out of his way to challenge the Indian government, whether it is on his crackdown on the opposition, invitations to China, or even breaking with New Delhi’s effort to isolate Pakistan at SAARC.
· In Nepal, the K.P. Sharma Oli government is certainly not India’s first choice, and the recent invitation to the Pakistani Prime Minister confirms the chill.
· In other parts of the neighbourhood, where relations have been comparatively better for the past few years.
· But, the recent local election results in Sri Lanka and the upcoming elections in Afghanistan, Bhutan and Bangladesh could pose challenges for India.
Factors led to the current situation
China factor
· Impact of China’s unprecedented forays into each of India’s neighbouring countries is a cause of concern.
· For example, Instead of telling the Nepal government to sort out issues with India, as it had in the past, China opened up an array of alternative trade and connectivity options after the 2015 India-Nepal border blockade.
· In Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, the Maldives and Pakistan, China holds strategic real estate, which could also be fortified militarily in the future.
· At present, it means China has a stake in the internal politics of those countries.
Use of Hard power tactics
· India’s decision to use hard power tactics in the neighbourhood is another factor which results in current situation.
· Theoretically, given its central location in South Asia and being the largest geographically and economically, India should be expected to hold greater sway over each of its neighbours.
· But, the “surgical strikes” on Pakistan of 2016, 2015 Nepal blockade and a subsequent cut in Indian aid and Indian PM’s decision to abruptly cancel his visit to Male in 2015 did not yield any such required changes as intended.
What India should do reverse it?
· India must focus its efforts to return to a more comfortable peace, and to “Making the Neighbourhood First Again”.
· Soft power – Despite conventional wisdom on the benefits of hard power and realpolitik, India’s most potent tool is its soft power.
· Its successes in Bhutan and Afghanistan, for example, have much more to do with its development assistance than its defence assistance.
· Tackling China – Instead of opposing every project by China in the region, the government must attempt a three-pronged approach.
a) First, where possible, India should collaborate with China. E.g. BCIM
b) Second, when it feels a project is a threat to its interests, India should make a counter-offer to the project. E.g. QUAD
c) Third, India should coexist with projects that do not necessitate intervention.
· ASEAN experience – Learning from the successes of ASEAN would help to renew SAARC which in turn would enhance compactness with the neighbours.
· They also say that just as Indonesia, the biggest economy in the ASEAN, allowed smaller countries such as Singapore to take the lead, India too must take a back seat in decision-making, enabling others to build a more harmonious SAARC process.
