Former PM A.B. Vajpayee once famously said ‘You can change your friends but not neighbours’. For India to play a vital role in the emerging multipolar world politics, it is important to develop enduring linkages between its domestic priorities and its foreign policy objectives. India’s policy towards its immediate neighbourhood is based on efforts to build peace and cooperation in South Asia. Its neighbourhood first policy accords primacy to nations in the periphery with a focus on encouraging trade, connectivity and people-to-people contact.

India’s Neighbourhood First Policy

1. Immediate priority to neighbours: Priority is to improve the relations with immediate neighbours as peace and tranquillity in South Asia is essential for realizing the development agenda.
2. Dialogue: It focuses on vigorous regional diplomacy by engaging with neighbouring nations and building political connectivity through dialogue. The first initiative in this direction was extending an invitation to all heads of government of SAARC countries for the oath-taking ceremony of the Prime minister in 2014.
3. Resolving bilateral issues: The focus is on resolving bilateral issues through mutual agreement. For instance, India and Bangladesh have signed a pact to operationalise the historic Land Boundary Agreement (LBA).
4. Economic Cooperation: It focuses on enhancing trade ties with neighbours. India has participated and invested in SAARC as a vehicle for development in the region. One such example is the Bangladesh-Bhutan-India-Nepal (BBIN) grouping for energy development i.e. motor vehicles, waterpower management and inter-grid connectivity.
5. Technical Cooperation: The policy put emphasis on technical cooperation. Recently a dedicated SAARC satellite was developed to share the fruits of technology like telemedicine, elearning etc. with people across South Asia.
6. Disaster management: India’s offer cooperation on disaster response, resource management, weather forecasting and communication and also capabilities and expertise in disaster management for all South Asian citizens. For example, India provided immense assistance to its neighbour Nepal in the aftermath of the 2016 earthquake.

The Growing Influence Of China

1. Afghanistan: Beijing was a part of the trilateral China-Pakistan-Afghanistan foreign ministers dialogue which focuses on facilitating Afghan domestic political reconciliation, enhancing regional connectivity, and improving regional common development. The trilateral discussions also agreed to push “forward under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)” and “to enhance connectivity by extending the CPEC to Afghanistan”.
2. Bangladesh: China and Bangladesh pledged to deepen defence cooperation, especially in the areas of “defence industry and trade, training, equipment and technology. China is also the largest arms supplier of the Bangladeshi military, providing 71.8% of weapons from 2008 to 2018.
3. Maldives: China’s relationship with the Maldives is near-exclusively focused on leveraging BRI to develop the Maldives as well as to raise Chinese influence there to counter India.
4. Nepal: Chinese President went to Nepal in 2019. This was the first visit by a Chinese head of state in 23 years. The countries have signed agreements to accelerate Infrastructure building in Nepal and improve connectivity between them. Both the countries have also announced the launch of a feasibility study of the China-Nepal cross-border railway.
5. Sri Lanka: Sri Lanka handed over Hambantota port on a 99-year lease to China to repay its loan back to china. Hambantota is geostrategically located on the Indian Ocean, potentially bolstering Beijing’s String of Pearls.

India Response

1.India’s response to the challenges has been to assert its Neighbourhood First and SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region) strategies as foreign policy priorities. 2.India has also upped its game on infrastructure delivery, particularly for regional connectivity in the past year. This includes :

1. Completing railway lines to Bangladesh and Nepal.
2. Riverine projects, ferry service to the Maldives.
3. Identifying other services to Sri Lanka and IOR islands.
4. Also considering debt waiver requests from its neighbours.

Way Forward

1. India does not have the economic capacity as that of China yet. Thus it should cooperate with China (with the exception of CPEC) for the development of these countries such that fruits of development collectively reach South Asia.
2. Further India should invest in these countries where China falls short and maintain its goodwill in South Asia and prevent these nations from slipping off from India’s Influence.
3. India should work with its neighbour in strengthening its markets and its own infrastructure to its neighbours.
4. India must ensure its neighbour continuous support for their development. Efforts must be made to strengthen Indian exports in the region.
5. Soft power: India’s soft power and common culture provide an opportunity for India to strengthen its cultural roots further in the region.
6. Improving Regional Connectivity: Regional connectivity must be pursued with greater vigour while security concerns are addressed through cost-effective, efficient and reliable technological measures which are in use in other parts of the world.

Although there are complex challenges and situations, neighbourhood first policy must be anchored in the sustained engagement at all levels of the political and people to people levels, building upon the deep cultural affinities which are unique to India’s relations with its neighbours. India’s immediate neighbourhood directly impacts it geopolitically, geo-strategically and geo-economically because of its vicinity. Thus, working with them is important for India to rise as a superpower. Emphasis must be on sustainable and inclusive development.