Carnegie India
As the weakest of the major powers, New Delhi should stay engaged with both continental as well as maritime powers in order to improve its own place in the world order.
Without a return to genuine bilateralism that takes into account the interests of both parties, Beijing will find that the chasm with New Delhi continues to deepen.
Leveraging Japanese expertise in robotic manufacturing and channelling local software talent would allow India to come to terms with a fast changing global economic scenario, where automation will rule the roost.
While the Indian media’s obsession with China tends to be over the top, there is no denying that Beijing looms large over New Delhi’s worldview these days.
The ideas of religious moderation and social modernization have been steadily pushed on the defensive in the four decades since 1979. Any effort to reverse 1979, therefore, must be welcomed in the Subcontinent.
Looking beyond the traditional areas of high-technology and defence cooperation, and the more recent focus on global mitigation of climate change, New Delhi and Paris appear ready to lend a strong regional dimension to their strategic partnership.
Given the importance of artificial intelligence (AI) in the coming years, India must keep a wary eye on Chinese developments in this field, and develop its own strategic vision of how AI technologies can be harnessed to advance its interests.
As he seeks a say in defining the agenda of the quadrilateral security dialogue with Japan, the United States, and Australia, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is heralding his country’s self-confident pursuit of enlightened self-interest with all the major powers.
The proposition that India must tilt to one side, toward Russia and China, and keep its distance from the United States is a legacy from the 1970s. It does not square with contemporary reality.
The durability of the Indo-Pacific dynamic will depend essentially on New Delhi’s willingness to work with the United States and its allies in the region.
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