Can India narrow its gap with China in defence, diplomacy and technology? Probably not under Modi

India under Prime Minister Narendra Modi markets itself as an alternative and counterweight to China in Asia, but it ranks behind Beijing in soft and hard power and its reforms have been anaemic by comparison

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Chinese President Xi Jinping (left) welcomes Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a meeting at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit in Qingdao, in eastern China's Shandong province on June 10, 2018. Photo: AP

Published: 7:30am, 18 May 2019Updated: 7:51am, 18 May 2019

Unsurprisingly, Indian leaders were absent from China’s Belt and Road Forum on April 26-27. This marked the second time they had boycotted the event, rooted in concerns that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor project violates India’s territorial integrity.

Alongside the US and Japan, India has been highly critical of China’s “Belt and Road Initiative”, labelling it as “debt-trap diplomacy.”

Just last month, New Delhi set up an Indo-Pacific division in its Ministry of External Affairs, which is expected to counteract the broader geopolitical impact of China’s Maritime Silk Road. The Act East policy has been a hallmark of India’s foreign policy under Prime Minister Narendra Modi – if not in action, at least in rhetoric.

However, Modi’s tenure has been plagued by inadequate investment to modernise India’s military. For New Delhi, it’s not just its defensive shortcomings that are of concern, but a host of other strategic areas where it lags well behind Beijing, from infrastructure to diplomacy and artificial intelligence.

If Modi is re-elected in the general election which wraps up on May 23, is there any reason to believe his administration – which has presided over a shaky period of Sino-Indian relations – has the strategic foresight to close the growing gap with China?

China is India’s largest trading partner, and their economies have become enmeshed. But, from the perspective of raw economic power, the gap remains quite visible: as of 2018 according to the International Monetary Fund, India’s economy was valued at US$2.7 trillion while China’s stood at US$13.4 trillion.

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