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In a conflict-ridden South Asian region with millions in poverty, ethnic conflicts since the colonial age, multiple wars, and radicalization, are peace, stability, and integration (both physical and economic) possible? India, always under pressure to defend its borders and even under pressure to act inside neighbouring countries out of mutual interest, has always had its neighbourhood as an area of concern. The domestic politics in the region have also not helped iron out differences, rather escalating tensions in different ways. The overall history shows this region as poorly integrated and unstable, with political instability in most countries. But the story has been changing since the second half of the last decade, and faster since the pandemic. This is exactly the period when India clawed its way back into the region by way of proactive diplomacy. While India, after going through multiple waves of the COVID virus, managed to vaccinate a billion people twice in quick time thanks to technology and logistics, China struggled to contain COVID, causing it to close its country for as long as three years. The region also recovered thanks to India’s active diplomacy with the Vaccine Maitri initiative, through which COVID vaccines were supplied to neighbouring countries such as Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, and Myanmar. Ever since then, India’s outreach to neighbouring countries has always been with digital solutions, from Aadhar to the Cowin app to UPI, benefiting mutually as these are true digital solutions that are transparent, safe, and successfully proven at a large scale of over a billion people. Our Himalayan neighbour, Bhutan, was the first neighbouring
country to accept UPI in 2021, enabling easier trade and movement between the two countries. In 2021, India committed 4500 crore rupees for development projects, including hydropower projects and skill training for Bhutanese youth. With Nepal, both countries have been able to put aside the contentious border issue and the Agniveer scheme for now, with the coming back of Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda as Prime Minister. His last two visits saw agreements on cross-border payments through UPI, which could give a big boost to trade and tourism; on energy sharing between India, Bhutan, and Nepal; and various other infrastructure projects. India also agreed to import a substantial amount of hydroelectricity in the next 10 years to be exported to Bangladesh through Indian grids, which is a long-term agreement that does not need annual negotiation. India was also quick to engage war-torn Afghanistan when the Taliban took over and sent them aid in the form of food and vaccines, which made sure millions in Afghanistan survive. The reciprocating Taliban has also asked India to complete the stalled projects in the country. India also, in the meantime, secured a ceasefire with Pakistan, already reeling under a failing economy, and helped it with food supplies later during floods. The cease-fire has endured thus far, making the border and Kashmir stable and peaceful, with tourists flocking to the streets of Srinagar and elsewhere. Post-first COVID-wave, India also revived various small regional groupings for terrorism, infrastructure, and trade expansion, and engagements with neighbours started to gather speed. The Colombo Security Initiative is one such grouping that has met several times, sharing intelligence and later expanding its mandate to protect the Indian Ocean.
SAGAR is another initiative aimed at the Indian Ocean Region launched in 2020, under which vaccines were distributed along with humanitarian assistance to countries such as the Maldives, Mauritius, Madagascar, Comoros, and Seychelles. In the Maldives, Indian telecommunications major Reliance Jio has completed the work related to connecting the Maldives with a high- speed optical fibre cable that connects the archipelago to the international fibre cable system. The island nation has already accepted UPI, which in turn helps its domestic tourism economy as Indians continue to flood the nation every year, creating new records. When Sri Lanka was on its way to a civil war largely due to a collapsing economy, India helped the island nation get back on its feet with a 4 billion dollar aid package that covered fuel, food, and medicine supplies. This also helped both countries speed up agreements on various infrastructure projects as the Sri Lankan political elite realised Chinese help was conditional and it needed capital investments and digital solutions from India. Earlier in 2022, India agreed to help Sri Lanka build its own Aadhar identity project and is already moving fast, with India advancing a cheque of 450 million Indian rupees recently as part payment for the implementation. On the recent visit of President Wickremesinghe, two countries agreed on UPI acceptance, an oil pipeline connecting two countries, reviving connectivity between two countries, and much more, including renewable energy project investments in Sri Lanka. India, which actively pushed for IMF assistance for Sri Lanka, has now brought Japan back to the table, which was quite miffed when Sri Lanka previously cancelled projects with India and Japan and gave them to China. With Bangladesh, India has put the contentious CAA law on the backburner and has engaged since then by fast-tracking and completing various infrastructure projects. India and Bangladesh also signed on sharing water from the Kushiyara river, a water treaty agreement after the last one was signed in 1996. Though major issues remain, such as Teesta river water sharing and Rohingya deportation, the current progress augurs well for Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s return to power later this year, which India also wants as the Awami League, the ruling party, has strongly supported
India in the fight against terrorism. In Myanmar, when the junta took over in 2021, India did not join other countries in sanctioning or isolating and instead engaged in different ways. The important connectivity project of the trilateral highway connecting India’s north-east to Thailand and Southeast Asia goes through Myanmar, and India would want the support of various ethnic groups and the junta to complete the remaining part of the project. Also of equal importance is the Kaladan Multimodal Transit Transport Project (KMMTTP), which connects the port in Kolkata to the one in Myanmar and then to the North East via Myanmar roads. The takeover of the Junta, though, has increased the flow of weapons and drugs into India’s North East, but India has not left Myanmar in the hands of China. While China’s influence has been steadily increasing in the region through its own handouts of big money and infrastructure development, it is India’s non-exploitative and condition-free help through steady financing and transparent technology proven at large scale that is proving to be a game changer for these smaller economies. Pakistan, the exception, thanks to its own policy, stands isolated, expecting its own iron brother to help it out. South Asia is opening up, and India is integrating them through secure technology, better connectivity, and infrastructure development, aided by proactive diplomacy.
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