Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval paid visits to Nepal and Sri Lanka respectively this week to strengthen economic and security ties with the two neighboring nations.
The surge of high-level visits by Indian officials to South Asian neighbors, including during the Covid-19 pandemic, comes amid India’s ongoing clash with China in eastern Ladakh.
Remodeling ties
Shringla, who is the first senior Indian government official to visit Nepal since a border dispute earlier this year, has promised priority access to drugs and vaccines that are made in India to combat the coronavirus pandemic.
The visit takes on significance as ties between the two nations have been unstable since Nepal released a new map showing the Kalapani-Limpiyadhura-Lipulekh region in India’s Pithoragarh, as it is in Nepal.
Furthermore, with China seeking to reactivate its stalled Belt and Road projects, India also plans to accelerate work on its own projects in Nepal and has promised infrastructure investments including a dam.
In Sri Lanka, NSA Doval revived trinational maritime security talks with Colombo and the Maldives that have been stalled for more than five years. This is Doval’s second official visit to Sri Lanka this year. In January, he visited the island nation and discussed a number of bilateral issues, including strengthening defense cooperation, intelligence sharing, and maritime security with President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
The Rajapaksa government, given its history, has been considered closer to China than to India. The Indian government is now looking for an opportunity to move the relationship to New Delhi. Sri Lanka has recently said that it wants to pursue a “neutral” foreign policy but will maintain an “India first” approach on strategic and security issues.
Recently, India also announced a virtual summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bangladeshi counterpart, Sheikh Hasina, in December and said it will accelerate work on key connectivity projects. China has been courting Bangladesh, a strong ally of India, with a host of benefits and the promise of large investments. In August this year, Shringla had visited the nation to resolve disputes that arose over India’s National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the Citizenship Amendment Act.
Mission Sagar
Meanwhile, Foreign Minister S Jaishankar visited the island nation of Seychelles, where China has deepened defense cooperation by transferring aircraft and warships.
Jaishankar announced plans to complete infrastructure projects worth $ 91 million during his visit to Seychelles and also discussed security cooperation.
The visit of the foreign minister is important as India is developing infrastructure in the country to expand its presence in the strategically key region in the Indian Ocean where China has been trying to improve its military presence.
India launched the Sagar Mission in May to support IOR (Indian Ocean Region) nations amid the Covid pandemic. Maldives, Sri Lanka, Mauritius and Seychelles were among the first nations to receive assistance from India.
‘Mission Sagar’ is inspired by the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi of SAGAR: security and growth for all in the region. Establishing positive ties with island nations is strategically important for India as it will help to reaffirm its position as a trusted partner in the Indian Ocean region with the Indian Navy as the leading maritime agency and first responder in the maritime arena.
Footprint expansion
India is also giving priority to other key nations in which China dominates or seeks to expand its presence.
For example, India has begun to deepen its military cooperation with Vietnam, another nation distrustful of China’s aggressive behavior in the South Asian region. In Friday’s talks with Vietnam, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh secured all possible assistance to modernize Vietnam’s armed forces, including arms supplies, training of its fighter pilots and divers, and upgrading of capabilities. maritime. Singh and his counterpart, General Ngo Xuan Lich, reaffirmed that defense cooperation is a key pillar of the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries.
In August, India announced a $ 500 million package to fund a project in the Maldives to help connect the capital, Male, with three nearby islands. The move was aimed at intensifying New Delhi’s diplomatic efforts in a region that has become a focal point in the China Belt and Road Initiative. India is keen to regain diplomatic clout in the islands, particularly after a new administration led by President Ibrahim Solih took power following the defeat of pro-China strongman Abdulla Yameen in 2018.
Earlier this week, India also announced that it would build the Shahtoot Dam on the Kabul River in Afghanistan in a relief to Kabul residents. The move is expected to unnerve Pakistan, China’s all-weather ally.
Border confrontation
India’s efforts to strengthen regional ties come at a time when it is preparing for its months-long border conflict with China in eastern Ladakh that will drag on through the winter. The military confrontation began in May and since then both sides have flown thousands of troops, tanks and missiles to the border, while fighter jets are on standby.
The diplomatic overload comes shortly after India’s 2 + 2 engagement with the US in New Delhi and the Quad’s security dialogue in Tokyo, two high-level meetings focused on China’s regional dominance.
The Indian Ocean nations of Sri Lanka, Maldives and Seychelles are said to be crucial to the informal quadruple grouping of India, the United States, Japan and Australia in their quest to counter an expansionist China.
(With inputs from agencies)
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