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“You can change friends, but you can’t change neighbours”- former PM Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee
The Indian subcontinent is strategically located in the Asian continent sharing its 15,106.7 km of land boundary with 7 countries and maritime boundary with 2 countries namely Sri Lanka and Maldives. India shares its longest land boundary of 4,096.7 km with Bangladesh, followed by China, Pakistan, Nepal, Myanmar, Bhutan and Afghanistan in descending order.
Illustration by The Geostrata
India shares both land and maritime boundary with Pakistan and Bangladesh. India’s strategic position has led it to pursue bilateral relationships with its neighbours to enhance security and ensure regional stability.
India’s emergence as a continental power and growing economic might calls for policies directed towards its neighbours to achieve prosperity and strategic parity in South Asia. Establishing healthy and stable relations with its neighbours is important for India’s economic development, and for its national security as well, resulting in mutual economic growth, benefiting both the countries involved.
The practical and dynamic foreign policy of India includes the following concerning its immediate neighbours.
“Neighbourhood First Policy”, which paves the way towards having cordial relations with its neighbours. This policy is focused on improving physical, digital and people-to-people connectivity across the region and expanding trade and commerce with Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.
Act East Policy - A successor to the erstwhile “Look East Policy”, it is aimed at promoting economic cooperation, improving cultural ties and expanding strategic relationships with partners in Southeast Asia.
“Real test of foreign policy is in the handling of neighbours”, is what our former PM Dr. Manmohan Singh said. Encompassing the idea of neighbourhood first policy, India is always ahead in helping its neighbours. From extending financial support during the economic crisis in Sri Lanka to providing humanitarian aid during critical times such as Covid-19 and natural calamities.
Initiating comprehensive cooperation with the countries in South Asia and the Indo-Pacific will give a boost to India’s position through the process of regional integration and association. The way India deals with its neighbours will pave a road towards the regional stability and cooperation
The Gujral doctrine given by the former Indian External Affairs Minister, I.K Gujral consists of a 5-point roadmap for establishing trust with its neighbours and resolving bilateral issues with bilateral dialogue. Mr Gujral’s doctrine shows the importance of establishing and maintaining good relationships for India with its neighbours. This doctrine is pertinent in India’s current foreign policy dealing with its neighbours.
India’s relations with its immediate neighbours have come a long way since its independence and have seen numerous ups and downs. India has friendly relations with its neighbours not only because it shares a common boundary but also because it shares a common bond which is based on familiar customs & traditions and a common civilisational heritage.
INDIA-BANGLADESH RELATIONS
Relations between India and Bangladesh have improved with time and reached a point where both are strategic partners in the region. Bangladesh is India’s important trade partner in South Asia. Incorporating commonalities between the two nations, Prime Ministers of both nations jointly inaugurated the “India-Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline” on 18 March 2023.
The sum of bilateral trade between two nations was reported to be $15.9 billion in FY 22-23 and Bangladeshi exports to India stood at $2 billion in FY 22-23. India is the second largest trade partner of Bangladesh in Asia, on the other hand, Bangladesh is the largest development partner of India. India has provided assistance towards 4 Lines of Credit (LOC) that are estimated for about $8 billion in the last 8 years.
INDIA-CHINA RELATIONS
Bilateral ties of India and China can be compared to a sinusoidal graph with deeper troughs and higher crests. Tensions between both nations are mainly due to the disputed border region stretching from Ladakh to Arunachal Pradesh in India. Over some time, relations have soured instead of improving. Set back in the relations began in 1962 and have worsened since then despite numerous efforts of bilateral talks.
Ties between the two giants saw a brief upward trend in 2018 with PM Modi and President Xi holding the 1st informal summit in Wuhan but very soon the relationship saw a downfall with the Galwan Valley stand-off in the year 2020. The increasing Chinese influence and its interference in India’s strategic space has been a topic of concern for India.
INDIA-PAKISTAN RELATIONS
India and Pakistan share a lot in common. From sharing a common history to common cultures, India and Pakistan are neighbours in true sense. Their relationship can be termed as the most disputed and complicated among all bilateral relations India has had with any country so far. Though both nations are bound together by language, culture, and geography, yet complicated through politics.
Never-ending cross-border terrorism and constant violation of the Line of Control (LOC) from the Pakistanis dampens any effort made towards establishing normal ties. Despite having a common history, both nations differ from each other on economic terms. In spite of losing four wars fought between India and Pakistan since its inception, Pakistan continues to be hostile towards India. India on the other hand has followed a consistent policy towards Pakistan. With the “Neighbourhood First Policy '', India expects normal relations with the neighbour, free from cross-border terrorism and violence.
INDIA-BHUTAN RELATIONS
India & Nepal share history, culture, and religion with each other, however, the ties between both nations have seen a remarkable downside due to domestic and regional issues for a decade. Nepal is strategically important for Indian diplomacy as Nepal acts as a buffer state between India and China.
India is the largest trading partner of Nepal, where petroleum products, motor vehicles, and spare parts are some of the most important exports to Nepal. The Government of India has given Lines of Credit (LOC) worth $1.66 billion for the development of the infrastructure and post-earthquake renovation projects in recent times.
INDIA-BHUTAN RELATIONS
India-Bhutan bilateral ties completed 50 years of friendship in 2018. India is the closest diplomatic partner of Bhutan and is also the largest bilateral donor. India and Bhutan are the only two nations in the region that have chosen to not be a part of the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
Economic ties between both countries have been an important aspect. India lets Bhutanese goods pass through its territory to trade with other nations. The India-Bhutan relationship is a natural one filled with positivity and mutual respect. The bilateral trade of India with Bhutan is estimated to be $1.42 billion.
INDIA-MYANMAR RELATIONS
Myanmar is an important strategic partner of India, given its proximity to China. Myanmar is also the only country that connects South Asia and Southeast Asia by land. It is one of the major parts of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectorial, Technical, and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) and Mekong-Ganga Corporation (MGC). Myanmar is critical to India’s national security and presents many challenges.
India has worked to improve relations with Myanmar which aided in cross-border military operations to clear insurgents in the region. New Delhi looks to enhance the infrastructure and development projects in Myanmar as it shares an extensive land border with India’s Northeastern states. Ever since Myanmar’s military junta ousted Aung Sang Su Ki’s government in a coup in 2021, the subsequent instability has caused the Burmese to flee the country leading to refugee crises in the neighbouring countries.
The military junta in Myanmar has developed new threats for itself and for India as well, it has also given rise to the Rohingya refugee crisis. Myanmar’s northern border with China poses a challenge to Beijing as it has heavily invested here, China also happens to be one of the largest suppliers of arms to Myanmar amidst global sanctions. Tackling these challenges before China attempts further to pave inside Myanmar and destabilise India’s internal security in the northeast is of paramount necessity to India.
INDIA-SRI LANKA RELATIONS
India and Sri Lanka marked their 75 years of diplomatic relations in the year 2023.
Colombo is of particular interest to New Delhi given its close geographical proximity, its strategic location draws security concerns to India in the form of the Hambantota port which was leased for a period of 99 years to China in the aftermath of a Sri Lankan inability to pay the debt back to China.
India-Sri Lanka relations have remarkably improved over some time, yet there are some unresolved issues concerning fisheries disputes, ethnic disputes, and geopolitics in the region. When Sri Lanka was going through deep economic and political crises in the year 2022, India provided assistance with a new Line of Credit (LoC) worth $500 million to purchase petroleum products.
Apart from this India has also supplied essential items including food, medicines, fuel etc. worth $1 billion to the Sri Lankan government in addition to an extended assistance of over $4 billion. This financial aid by India to Sri Lanka surpassed the International Monetary Fund (IMF’s) bailout of about $3 billion. Both nations have signed a Foreign Trade Agreement (FTA) and India remains one of the biggest trading partners of Sri Lanka.
INDIA-MALDIVES RELATIONS
After the Maldives gained independence in 1965, India was one of the first countries that gave recognition to the island nation and established diplomatic relations. India had played a major role in saving the lawfully elected government of Maldives through the Indian Armed Forces during the 1988 coup.
India has always provided assistance to Maldives and has aided the country in capacity building and skill development. The location of Maldives in the Indian Ocean Region makes it an important and strategic partner for India. Internal politics and recent developments in Maldives have been a cause of concern for India. India-Maldives bilateral ties have largely been influenced by China’s growing footprint in the island nation. Maldives is inching closer to China.
The recent decision of the Maldivian government asking the Indian government to call back Indian troops who were deployed there for aircraft maintenance and security, their internal ministers passing inappropriate comments on the Indian PM and the present Maldivian party-in-power’s “India out campaign” are all an indication of straining ties between the two countries which is by and large influenced by China. Despite all these, India has not stopped engaging with the present Maldivian government.
The fact that India has always been the first responder to any crisis faced by Maldives cannot be ignored. From overturning the coup in 1988, and providing humanitarian assistance during the 2004 Tsunami to sending medical aid during the Covid19 crisis in 2020, India’s role in assistance cannot go unnoticed.
CONCLUSION
Bilateral relations of India with its neighbours can be termed as a sweet and sour relation as they are elsewhere in the world. While some countries in the neighbourhood focus on economic growth and mutual cooperation, at the same time there are some which do not cater to peace in the region. If bilateral relations with Pakistan and Maldives have deteriorated and the concern of Chinese expansion in Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Maldives has increased, then the cooperation of India with Bangladesh, Bhutan, Afghanistan, and Myanmar has shown positive growth.
Image Credits: Rightful Owner
Southeast Asia has always been an economic and strategic priority for India. The diplomatic attention of India has shifted from the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) to BIMSTEC specifically due to Pakistan not being able to uphold the goals of the SAARC and has made the grouping almost redundant by violating the terms on multiple occasions such as allowing the construction of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor CPEC through the occupied territory of the Indian union territory of Jammu & Kashmir, smuggling drugs & fake currency in the Indian territory using drones, and causing disturbances in the Indian state of Punjab.
Shifting attention from the SAARC to BIMSTEC has given an eastward shift to India’s neighbourhood policy. Proactive steps toward building new commitments and enhancing current relationships in South Asian countries will help New Delhi improve ties with its neighbours. Redrawing policies to sustain relationships and handling of minor issues will prove to be constructive towards stability in the region.
BY VAYSHNAVI DESAI
TEAM GEOSTRATA
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