A Study Of India's Great Neighbourhood Foreign Policy Of The Modi Administration

On May 26,2014,Modi was sworn in as Prime Minister of the federal government of India.For more than three years in office,Modi has impulsed great effort in diplomacy and achieved fruitful results.According to the diplomatic ideas and traditions of India,the Modi administration took the diplomatic strategy that was known as the concentric circles in the India strategic community,which divided India's diplomacy into three concentric circles of different levels: the first layer encompasses the immediate neighborhood in South Asia;the second layer encompasses the so-called extended neighborhood stretching across Asia and the Indian Ocean littoral;the third one refers to the entire global stage and mainly focuses on relations with great powers and international organizations.Among these three levels,this thesis defines the first and the second concentric circles as Great Neighbourhood Diplomacy of India.These countries are also in the areas where Modi actively expanded the influence of India after he took office.It conforms to the logic of the rise of India that the Modi administration vigorously implemented the great neighbourhood foreign policy.Although India has not yet become a great power,it is the most important regional power at present.And this is an inherent road of development for the emerging powers.Therefore,the Great Neighbourhood Diplomacy of the Modi administration can be regarded as a necessary means for India to achieve its ambition of becoming a great power around the world.The specific policies of India's Great Neighbourhood Diplomacy may change as the international environment and the surrounding situation change,but there are some kind of inheritance and continuity in diplomatic ideas and thoughts.The origin of India's Great Neighbourhood Diplomacy stems from the specific history,culture,religion of India,and the legacies of rulers and leaders of India.According to history,there are three periods that leave a significant impact on the formation of India's Great Neighbourhood Diplomacy: the first one is India's ancient heritage,among which is widespread and often cited is the thought of Kautilya's Mandala System;the second one is the British colonial heritage,including India center theory that has been used by India until now and the Curzon's slope theory and buffer state theory;the third one is India's diplomatic ideas to neighboring countries after independence,among which the concept of Panikkar Marine Strategy focuses on the Indian Ocean,while the Monroe Doctrine of the South Asian version and Gujral Doctrine focus on South Asia.Although these ideas may have different functions and influences on the formation of India's Great Neighbourhood Diplomacy,they are the source of India's diplomatic thoughts.In addition to the diplomatic traditions of India,when it comes to Great Neighbourhood Diplomacy of the Modi administration,the realistic driving factors must be taken into consideration.The factors are mainly from four aspects: the first is the Modi administration's strategic positioning of India that the country must realize its ambition of becoming a great power and Modi's wish of pressing his own mark on India's rise.The second is the safety concern for both traditional securities that refers to geopolitical considerations of both land and sea and non-traditional security that includes terrorism,the threat of piracy,the global climate issue and energy security.The third is to promote the extension of Modi Economics,which is closely related to the economic structure,characteristics of India and the direction of Modi administration's economic reform.The forth is the soft power expansion of the great neighborhood,which reflects that the soft power in the overall diplomacy of India has been promoted because of the good foundation of India's soft power in the great neighborhood.The practice of the Modi administration's Great Neighbourhood Diplomacy can be divided into five directions: the first is the policy committed to pursue regional hegemony in South Asia;the second is Act East policy focusing on economy;the third is the Link West policy that emphasizes on the problem of energy and overseas Indians;the forth is the Great Central Asia policy that pays attention to the field of security and ideology;and the fifth is the Southward policy that extends India's economic and security interests to a broader space.In every direction of Great Neighbourhood Diplomacy,there will be a unique background of implementation,core interests concerns,selection of path and evaluation of specific utility,but the status of different direction in India's overall diplomacy with neighboring countries is different.The Modi administration's Great Neighbourhood Diplomacy has positive effects and negative effects as well as risks and challenges.The positive side of policy is to make convergence of diplomacy from India Congress Party to Bharatiya Janata Party,increase India's influence in the region,improve India's status,and optimize the India's future diplomatic environment for relations with great powers.While the negative side is embodied in three aspects,that is,firstly at the international level,India is easy to be influenced by the strategies of great powers;secondly the potential risks at the regional level and thirdly the challenges faced at the national level.There is no doubt that the Modi administration's Great Neighbourhood Diplomacy will continue to adhere to the Modi Style and the established policy in the future.Besides,the convergence of Great Neighbourhood Diplomacy and diplomacy with great powers will become the norm,and it will be kept optimizing according to international and regional developments.The Modi administration's Great Neighbourhood Diplomacy will lead to a series of impacts on Sino-Indian relations.In the view of great neighborhood,there are three definitions for China in India: a geopolitical target,an economic partner and a contender for Asia's dominant power.In this regard,India has taken measures in the surrounding areas.The first is to take hard line in the bilateral problems;the second is against China's actions in South Asia;the third is the appropriate intervention in security arrangements of Indo-Pacific region;the forth is to increase the influence to balance China in surrounding countries;and the fifth is to make a fresh start with Japan.Above all,China should take an inclusive perspective on Sino-Indian relations and take a measure committed to the long-term development of Sino-Indian relations based on the initiative of three partners proposed by President Xi Jinping,which means that China and India should be closer partners for development,cooperative partners for growth and global partners for strategic coordination.