Dear Editor,
The year 2014 marked the beginning of a new era in Indian politics. With great and fresh leadership of Mr. Modi , the nation looked potentially to make remarkable stride towards the multipolar world and become the major player in south East Asia as well as the world. Fast forward four and a half years, all I can see is broken international contacts and failed diplomacy.
It’s about 2019 and we are in no way near to having cordial relationship with our immediate neighbors let alone the western hemisphere. Our old policy of pleasing and brown nosing the US is not going to get us anywhere. Every logic indicates US is a world power in decline and no longer holds the Monopoly which it governed a couple of decades back.
The Chinese aggression has increased, the BRI was already a contentious issue, the matter in Doklam last year further escalated the tense ties.
Yes, the Wuhan informal summit is a good way to push restart button on the Indo-Chinese diplomacy but it’s at least a couple of years late for the ‘NEW’ government. Our other neighbors Sri Lanka and Maldives (previous govt) have already a Chinese leaning (read Humbantota port!). The small islands of Seychelles(important island in the international sea Lanes of communication) have already denied a naval project although the relationship remains cordial. The USA denied India a waiver in its blanket sanction on Russia but went forward with the COMCASA (beneficial to both countries but more for the US).
If India ever dreams of becoming the net security provider in the ‘Indo-pacific’ and check the Chinese passive aggression in the Indian ocean, some concrete steps towards solidifying the immediate relationship with the neighbors need to be taken and all tracks of diplomacy need to be active or else the curious case of Nepal will keep repeating itself and the only thing we will left is with bitter taste of being beaten to the punch by the Dragon.
Sincerely,
Kanya