Far more than East, South-east or West Asia, India’s immediate neighborhood directly impacts it geopolitically, geo-strategically and geoeconomically. Analyse.
Refer – The Hindu
Enrich the answer from other sources, if the question demands.
IAS Parliament 7 years
KEY POINTS
India’s actions in the extended neighbourhood
· Israel-Palestine – Indiahas been very skillful in manoeuvring contentious issues in this region with considerable success like in the case of Israel and Palestine.
· India had also separated the technological outreach of the Israeli PM Mr. Netanyahu’s visit without having to take a clear stand on Jerusalem’s status.
· Likewise, the bilateral with Palestine saw the conclusion of as many as six agreements and the expression of hope for full independence to Palestine.
· UAE - Trade, economic ties and counter-terror aspects have been on a growth curve, with massive investments too flowing India’s way.
· Oman - There exists an established long standing friendship with Oman.
· Hence, option of closer naval co-operation and of reaching an agreement to give the Indian Navy access to “Duqm port” did not prove difficult.
· ASEAN Outreach - The 2018 republic day celebrations saw all 10 ASEAN countries being represented at the highest level, which was a grand success.
Scenario in India’s immediate neighbourhood
· Nepal - A leftist government has taken over in Nepal, whose leaders in the past have clearly taken a pro-China attitude vis-a-vis India.
· The responsibility of aiding the aspirations of the Terai population through ensuring a balanced constitutional setup weighs heavily on India.
· The challenge is that this has to be done without antagonising the Nepali state.
· Bangladesh - A special court in Dhaka recently convicted opposition BNP leader and three-time PM Khaleda Zia on corruption charges.
· As this debars her, the possibility of a prolonged unrest in Bangladesh is very much alive.
· Maldives - Recently, political tensions have been mounting in Maldives due to the repressive regime, which is threatening to spill out of control.
· Considering the increasingly pro-China tilt of the present dispensation and the gravity of the situation, although risky, India can’t afford to be passive for long.
· Notably, a free trade agreement had been signed between Maldives and China recently, along with allocating for multiple infrastructure projects.
· Notably, anti-India activities and Saudi & Pakistan backed Islamic radicalists have been growing in strength in the island for a while now.
· Pakistan -As intuitive attitudes of the military and a free run of terrorists have come to prevail, this seems to be affecting India more than it is affecting Pakistan.
· Despite US warning Pakistan of dire consequences, there seems to be no course correction and anti-India propaganda and radicalism has been escalating.
· Afghanistan - The daily massacre of people even within urban districts have become common over the years in Afghanistan.
· Even the combined strengths of local police, Afghan military and the foreign forces aren’t able to weed out the menace, partly due to Pakistan’s hand.
· The collapse of the Afghan state does have severe consequences for India and other nations in the vicinity, which calls for decisive action.
Way Ahead
· A consensus across parties needs to emerge on pressing foreign policy concerns across domains for deriving the best possible outcomes.
· While other geopolitical issues are important, New Delhi must give its immediate neighbourhood in South Asia its fullest attention.
· Because, India’s immediate neighborhood has the potential to directly impact India, geopolitically, geo-strategically and geoeconomically.
