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The arrival of China in South Asia, the withdrawal of the U.S. from the region, and India’s tilt to the Indo-Pacific have shifted the regional balance of power

The arrival of China in South Asia, the withdrawal of the U.S. from the region, and India’s tilt to the Indo-Pacific have shifted the regional balance of power in Beijing’s favour. Sensing this new power equation, South Asia’s smaller powers, India’s neighbours, are engaged in a range of strategies: balancing, bargaining, hedging and bandwagoning. India’s smaller neighbours seem to find China as a useful hedge against India, for the moment at least. I'm not sure what withdrawl they mean. The US withdrew from Afghanistan, but that is clearly Central Asia and not South Asia (unless it's defined differently in India?). The US has withdrawn from other regions, especially the Mideast, in order to focus on China. But the US very much considers the Indian Ocean as part of the competition with China (usually using the term 'Indo-Pacific'; even the military command there is INDOPACOM); I'd be surprised if it ceded South Asia to China.

MPlus88 2y ago
"The US withdrew from Afghanistan, but that is clearly Central Asia and not South Asia (unless it's defined differently in India?)." India considers Afghanistan part of or ought to be part of India. It even has a map for it. https://moderndiplomacy.eu/2022/09/30/bjps-akhand-bharat-dream-is-not-only-problematic-fascist-also/ https://moderndiplomacy.eu/2022/09/30/bjps-akhand-bharat-dre...
- wolverine876 2y ago
  That is quite a map on its own merits. It doesn't make Afghanistan 'South Asia' in their conception. Out of curiosity, do you know anything about the publication, Modern Diplomacy? It has a lot of interesting coverage that isn't generally available elsewhere, but I have no idea how much and in what ways to trust it.
  - MPlus88 2y ago
    The concept of ‘Akhand Bharat’ dates back to the 1930s and the map is displayed prominently in the newly built Indian parliament last year. So, it is not some fringe ideology,
    - wolverine876 2y ago
      Rationally, it's still fringe. Like many far-right parties today, in Europe, the US, Latin America, etc., the BJP has built popular support for fringe ideas. We too quickly forget our history if we don't expect that or think popularity confers rational or moral legitimacy: Mao, Lenin/Stalin, Hitler, not to mention Pol Pot, Suharto, Pinochet, etc etc. were very popular.

MPlus88 2y ago

"The US withdrew from Afghanistan, but that is clearly Central Asia and not South Asia (unless it's defined differently in India?)." India considers Afghanistan part of or ought to be part of India. It even has a map for it. https://moderndiplomacy.eu/2022/09/30/bjps-akhand-bharat-dream-is-not-only-problematic-fascist-also/ https://moderndiplomacy.eu/2022/09/30/bjps-akhand-bharat-dre...

wolverine876 2y ago
That is quite a map on its own merits. It doesn't make Afghanistan 'South Asia' in their conception. Out of curiosity, do you know anything about the publication, Modern Diplomacy? It has a lot of interesting coverage that isn't generally available elsewhere, but I have no idea how much and in what ways to trust it.
- MPlus88 2y ago
  The concept of ‘Akhand Bharat’ dates back to the 1930s and the map is displayed prominently in the newly built Indian parliament last year. So, it is not some fringe ideology,
  - wolverine876 2y ago
    Rationally, it's still fringe. Like many far-right parties today, in Europe, the US, Latin America, etc., the BJP has built popular support for fringe ideas. We too quickly forget our history if we don't expect that or think popularity confers rational or moral legitimacy: Mao, Lenin/Stalin, Hitler, not to mention Pol Pot, Suharto, Pinochet, etc etc. were very popular.