Explainer | As India-China border dispute continues, New Delhi works to win back South Asian neighbours
- India is seeking to paint itself as an alternative to China, with recent bilateral talks in Nepal, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan
- New Delhi’s foreign policy focus had shifted and it is now trying to course correct to counter China’s activity in its neighbourhood, an analyst says
Adding significance to the outreach is the accompanying sense of urgency. Even as thousands of troops, heavy artillery and tanks from India and China remain lined up in the icy heights of the Himalayan region of Ladakh, often metres away from each other, experts say New Delhi is moving swiftly to assert itself and check its border rival’s influence in the region by pointing to its own troubles with Beijing.
Sameer Patil, fellow with the international security studies programme at Gateway House, a Mumbai-based think tank said: “If China comes up in these meetings, as it always does, India can point to its own experience with China and convince the neighbours that they would never see such belligerence from India.
“This is the contrast India wants to paint.”
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Underlining this approach is New Delhi’s promise and delivery of aid to its neighbours, all while it looks to resolve disputes and build cooperation.