A Festive Spring For Indian Diplomacy

Abstract

At no time since India's independence in 1947 has the South Asian part of the globalising world presented such positive indications of a different future. Taken together, these could work in India's favour both in South and Southeast Asia. High-level visits since Rajiv Gandhi's visit to China in 1988 have helped in articulating common expectations that both countries seek from the fast changing international political, social and economic situation. The world has begun to see India and China as drivers of the Asian (and international) economy and this can be seen as a paradigm shift from the earlier ‘China versus India’ syndrome. Both countries are committed to strengthening their bilateral relations on the one hand, and multilateralism in regional organisations, the UN and other international institutions on the other, while displaying sensitivity to the reasonable socioeconomic and security interests of all major powers. Both India and China do not seek to confront, either singly or jointly, the global presence or interests of the US although they have reservations about its unilateralist actions. In seeking to expand their mutual relations, the challenge both India and China face is to persuade American policymakers that it is for the purposes of peace, development and stability in Asia that an Asian ‘arc of advantage’ is important.