No other bilateral relationship for India is as complex and challenging as the one with China. The intractable border dispute is at the root of their rivalry. The military stand-off at Doklam in 2017 had poisoned the bilateral relationship until steps were taken to remove mistrust and misunderstanding through two ‘informal’ summits between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping in 2018 and 2019. Nonetheless, the sense of general improvement in Sino-Indian ties generated at Wuhan and Mamallapuram was shattered by China’s aggressive behaviour in June 2020 at the Galwan Valley in Ladakh along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). The article traces key events during the Doklam stand-off and the violent military clashes at Galwan, as well as the steps taken by India to enhance political trust at the highest level. It contends that since there has been no change in China’s policies on a range of issues that are critical for India, it is not possible for India to remain ambivalent on how to deal with China. The article concludes that there seems to be greater recognition of the challenge from China and the need to recalibrate the Indian response.
Historically, India–Russia cooperation has largely been dictated by geopolitical factors. During the Cold War era, their relationship was defined by their similar strategic perceptions of the world. However, post-Cold War global politics has seen several transformations in geopolitical and geostrategic configurations, influencing the strategic worldview of both New Delhi and Moscow. Recent political trends demonstrate the growing divergence between the strategic approaches of the two states toward various global issues, including Pakistan and the Taliban. The article discusses the implications of the shift in Russia’s South Asia policy as well as India’s counterterrorism efforts.
After Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister of India in 2014, New Delhi has been striving hard to achieve for India the great power status by consolidating its dominant position in South Asia and expanding its reach in the Indian Ocean. There have been many successes when it comes to foreign policy in general. However, five years after Modi began his term by inviting leaders of all SAARC countries to his swearing-in ceremony, the expectations aroused by his government’s neighbourhood policy and the energy invested in driving it seem to have faded, leading to a shift in focus on BIMSTEC. This article looks at India’s bilateral relations with India’s neighbours and argues that the major challenges come from insufficient perception management, lack of regional connectivity, gaps in project implementation, and external environment created by China’s unprecedented foray into each of India’s neighbours. The policy planners and decision-makers need to do serious policy homework to improve the outcomes.
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