The term ’Neighbourhood First’ came to the fore when the present Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, became prime Minister of India in May 2014 and invited the South Asian neighbours who also happen to be the members of the South Asian Association of Regional Co-operation (SAARC) to his swearing-in ceremony, and also met with them collectively and separately, the very next day.
This new initiative of the government ignited fresh hope among the neighbours for mutual understanding and cooperation in the true sense of the term. It is also a fact that all members of SAARC, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, are in close contact with the People’s Republic of China in the diplomatic, economic, and security domains and with them Beijing has forged a geostrategic pool to get its national, regional and global interests fulfilled, peacefully if possible, and by force if necessary.
India and China are standing opposite each other, like two rivals in their national, regional, global approach and objectives despite their centuries-old historical and cultural relationships. For instance, Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) project contains the potential of encircling India strategically, apart from its importance for economy and trade. In political and security domains too, Beijing has perfectly crafted an approach in each country to achieve its objectives against India, curtail its influence and defame New Delhi. Although they know it well that it is not in their interest and benefit, they often do not dare to say ‘no’ to China and disobey Beijing.
Since the days of its Independence and even earlier, India’s foreign policy has remained, by nature, vegetarian and never desires harm to any regional or global country. The boldness that we found in the regimes of Mrs Indira Gandhi and thereafter was the result an alliance (of China, the USA and Pakistan) against India when India became a sympathizer of the USSR in the phase of Cold War at the close of 1960s and early 1970s, when Pakistan played an active role to create an understanding between China and the USA, culminating in the strategic visit of American President Nixon to Beijing.
Keeping in view the regional and global politics of the day in August 1971 India signed a Treaty of Peace, Friendship and Friendship with theUSSR, and the latter had sent a fleet to check US preparation to help Pakistan against India during the Indo-Pak War of 1971. At that time and in successive periods, no doubt, New Delhi has strengthened itself but only against China and Pakistan’s alliance with the former against India. Again, in succession, after the mid-1980s and in the early 1990s, major substantial changes, like disintegration of a superpower (the USSR) which ultimately ended the Cold War between the two superpowers, coming of the regime of globalization and economic liberalization, and at the regional level the formation of SAARC in December 1985.
All these developments paved the way for redefinition of relations among the nations of the world. From the viewpoint of India’s security, status and influence in the region and outside, the emergence of China as a great power economically, militarily scientifically and diplomatically, has once again altered the balance of power at regional and global levels. In this new configuration, Beijing treats India as enemy, the USA as a rival and Pakistan as a friend and well-wisher. This unique situation, in practice, has tied Indian hands, and makes it not go beyond a limit even in bilateral relationship with its neighbours, or, to be precise, member countries of SAARC.
Following India’s helping attitude towards neibhbours, the new government that took over in New Delhi, in May 2014, undertook to make visits to boost bilateral relations and in line with this, Narendra Modi visited Bhutan in June 2014, the only country which was out of the purview of direct Chinese influence and strategically known as the ‘Chicken neck’ of India because of its small passage between India and its remote north-east states. This visit of Modi was dominated with economic themes, developing the rich natural resources and hydropower of Bhutan. Viewing Bhutan’s strategic significance China too wants to take the country into its influence and in order to curtail New Delhi’s effects in June 2017 its People’s Liberation Army began to extend a road from Tibet to the Doklam area towards Bhutan with which India had signed a security agreement.
Following India’s helping attitude towards neibhbours, the new government that took over in New Delhi, in May 2014, undertook to make visits to boost bilateral relations.
As India was bound to address Bhutan’s security concerns, it sent its troops to prevent the construction and after 73 days deadlock, Beijing failed to gain its objectives in Bhutan. However, China did not stop here and sent a high-level delegation to Bhutan in July 2018, again attempting to benefit Bhutan and sidetracking India.
From a strategic point of view, for New Delhi, next to Bhutan is Myanmar. It can serve India’s geopolitical, economic and security interests because it shares land borders with India’s north-east and maritime borders in the Bay of Bengal region. Here India wants to connect through developmental works as it is also a land bridge to the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and will pave the way for the Modi Government’s ‘Look East Policy’ renamed the ‘Act East Policy’.
Aung San Suu Kyi, the state councillor and foreign minister in the Bhutan government came to India in October 2016 and also attended the BRICS-BIMSTEC Outreach Summit held in Goa. In response, a return visit was paid by Prime Minister Modi in 2017 to speed up the ongoing projects in Myanmar. In May 2018, the two countries also opened two land-border crossing between India and Myanmar in the state of Manipur and Mizoram. Further the two countries’ engagements in different security projects and Myanmar’s co-operation on the issue of Naga insurgents and India’s soft handling of Rohingyas in India are proof that their bilateral relations are working on an even keel. The Indian President also visited Myanmar in December 2018.
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