While India occupies a strategic place in South Asia, it has to navigate a complicated mosaic of relations, where historical animosities, territorial conflicts, and fluid alliances determine its foreign relations (e.g. with Pakistan, China and Bangladesh). It’s signposted by the phrase “India growing neighbourhood dilemmas,” which represent the complex balancing act New Delhi must do as it weighs the merits of economic partnerships, security threats and diplomatic friction with neighbouring countries. This article examines the origins of these dilemmas and India’s adaptation to preserve regional order.

About the State of South Asia Politics

South Asia is a crucible of diversity and discord. As the largest country in the region, India shares land borders with Pakistan, China, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Myanmar, while Sri Lanka and the Maldives are located across its maritime frontiers. Each relationship presents distinct challenges:

• Pakistan: Generations of animosity over Kashmir, cross-border terrorism and water disputes.

• China: A border dispute, economic rivalry, and Beijing’s expanded clout in South Asia.

• Nato: New battlefield in Northeast.

• Sri Lanka & Maldives: Change of political loyalties and dependence on China pressing India’s maritime security.

These dynamics create a delicate ecosystem under which India must walk the tightrope between de-escalation and protecting its interests.

The Security vs. Development Balancing Act

One of India’s central dilemmas is reconciling security needs with a desire for regional economic integration. For instance:

• China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI): Even as some countries in the region such as Pakistan and Sri Lanka welcome Chinese loans for constructing infrastructure, India perceives projects and infrastructure created under the BRI to be a threat to its sovereignty and security, citing the activities in administration of Gilgit-Baltistan and the construction of the Hambantota Port in Sri Lanka.

• Cross-Border Terrorism: Regional trade and connectivity plans have stalled because of the tensions with Pakistan in the wake of SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation)-sponsored initiatives.

India’s “Neighbourhood First” policy intends to balance China by providing options, like the India-Maldives Greater Male Connectivity Project. But going head-to-head against Beijing’s deep pockets is an uphill battle.

The China Factor: Regional Landscape Redefined

Unfortunately for India, China’s assertiveness only adds to its neighbourhood woes. But planning ports in Sri Lanka and securing 99-year leases on islands in the Maldives had put Beijing firmly in the “String of Pearls”-encirclement camp (a theory by which Beijing seeks to surround India with ports and bases), and so it forced New Delhi to take a fresh look. The clash with China in Galwan Valley in 2020 highlighted the need to strengthen border infrastructure and to manage diplomatic implications with neighbors like Nepal that has gotten much closer to Beijing.

India’s Strategic Responses

All these challenges are being tackled by India through multi-pronged strategies:

• Making friends — forging bilateral ties: Making Bangladesh (energy cooperation, border settlements) and Bhutan (hydropower projects) priority partners.

• Regional Groupings: Working with BIMSTEC while marginalising SAARC to avoid a Pakistan-caused gridlock

• Maritime Security — strengthening naval ties with Sri Lanka and the Maldives to blunt Chinese influence in the Indian Ocean.

• Soft Power Diplomacy: Cultural ties + Disaster relief + COVID-19 vaccine diplomacy (“Vaccine Maitri”) = Building goodwill

Conclusion: The Road Ahead

The neighbourhood dilemmas of India are in no mood to go away quickly. China is expanding its footprint and smaller nations are hedging their bets; New Delhi has to strike a balance between assertiveness and pragmatism. The keys to success lie in closing domestic infrastructure gaps, expanding economic alliances and building trust through regular engagement. For India, the neighbourhood is not merely a policy challenge — it is a litmus test for its global power aspirations.

Not least of which is how such complexities mean that India’s emerging neighbourhood dilemmas are central to stability in South Asia, and how proactive diplomacy is conducive to deliver collaborative solutions therein.