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India Reclaims Its ‘Backyard’

Aamna Ali

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In the wake of Beijing’s Indian Ocean charm offensive, New Delhi looks to reassert influence over various island states.
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Mr. Modi has much to gain from Sri Lankan President Sirisena’s electoral victory. Photo: Agence France-Presse/Getty Images
By
Harsh V. Pant
March 9, 2015 12:34 p.m. ET

This week, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit the Indian Ocean island nations of Seychelles, Mauritius and Sri Lanka. New Delhi’s influence in the region has been eroding in the face of a quiet challenge from Beijing—Chinese-built highways, power plants and seaports have appeared in all three countries. With promises of increased civilian and military assistance, Mr. Modi will likely try to reassert India’s influence.

The Indian Ocean has long been considered India’s backyard. Yet China has been busy forging special ties with island nations on India’s periphery, including the ones on Mr. Modi’s itinerary.

China’s attempt to gain a foothold in the region gained attention in 2012 when reports emerged that Seychelles—a strategically located island nation in the western Indian Ocean—offered China a base for military relief and resupply facilities. Beijing rejected the offer, confirming only that Seychelles would be used as a refuelling port for its navy. But the offer underscored the changing balance of power in the region.

India has traditionally been the main defense provider for Seychelles—providing armaments and training to the Seychelles Peoples’ Defence Forces. It extended a $50 million line of credit and $25 million grant to Seychelles in 2012 in an attempt to cement strategic ties. Its navy has been making regular forays into the island nation’s surrounding waters. During Mr. Modi’s visit, the two states will be signing a pact on mapping the waters around the archipelago and further establishing defense ties.

In Mauritius, where India has enjoyed long-standing historical and defence ties, China’s aggressive economic diplomacy has put India on its back foot. Mr. Modi now wants to rekindle India’s primacy in the country. He will be the chief guest at Mauritius’s National Day celebrations and will commission a 1,300-tonne, Indian-built patrol vessel, the Barracuda—India’s first ever export warship. New Delhi plans to supply 13 more warships to Mauritius.

Meanwhile, Mr. Modi’s trip to Sri Lanka will be the first in 28 years by an Indian prime minister. China’s growing presence in the country recently suffered a setback following Maithripala Sirisena’s victory over Mahinda Rajapaksa in this year’s presidential elections. The Sirisena government has publicly expressed a desire to correct Mr. Rajapaksa’s tilt toward Beijing and has already made some significant overtures toward New Delhi. For his first trip abroad, the new president visited India and signed a civil nuclear-energy cooperation pact.

The Sirisena government has also stated that it will have a “different approach” regarding Chinese submarines. Last year the previous government allowed a Chinese submarine to dock in Colombo, raising hackles in New Delhi.

Sri Lanka has also suspended a $1.5 billion Chinese luxury real-estate project in Colombo, in a move that risks a diplomatic row with the country’s largest trading partner. The project was to have been the biggest of several Chinese investments in Sri Lankan ports and infrastructure. But the Sri Lankan government has suggested that the deal lacked transparency and did not meet environmental standards. India has also expressed its concerns about the project.

During his visit, Mr. Modi will address the Sri Lankan parliament. He will stop in several Sri Lankan cities, including Jaffna, the de facto capital of the Tamil Tigers until their defeat in 2009. Mr. Modi is hoping to cement his personal ties with the new government in Colombo as well as re-establishing India’s credibility as a regional power. By visiting Jaffna, he will underscore his government’s concern about Sri Lanka’s minority Tamils and will be working with the Sirisena government to ameliorate their situation.

With the rise in the military capabilities of China and India, the two countries are increasingly rubbing against each other. Tensions have only increased as China expands its presence in the Indian Ocean region and India makes its presence felt in East and Southeast Asia. With Indian policy makers finally acknowledging that both the South Asian and Indian Ocean regions are rapidly being shaped by the Chinese presence, the Modi government is pushing back by enhancing its diplomatic and defence presence in the area.

Yet China has also upped the ante with its ambitious $40 billion Maritime Silk Road project, aimed at connecting China with communication lines in the Indian Ocean and the larger Asia-Pacific region, setting the stage for the great game of the 21st century. India is only now beginning to take this challenge seriously. Mr. Modi’s trip this week will provide some important pointers as to how New Delhi will proceed.

Mr. Pant is a professor of defence studies at King’s College London.

LINK: Harsh V. Pant: India Reclaims Its “Backyard” - WSJ
 
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India lacked leadership for last 10 years and a dedicated team but now its all together a different story.Hope we have our PM for another term
 
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Indian foreign policy & it's relationship with extended neighbours were immensely suffered during UPA's tenure. It's good to see Modi taking this seriously & in a hurry to repair the damage by using both overt & covert means!
 
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Lets hope India doesn't start supporting another terrorist organisation in Sri Lanka.
 
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I think Writer has Outdated Info regarding India Sri Lanka Relations and also are not aware of Sri Lanka's Establishment because wont be writing that if he was Updated....

Sri Lanka has also suspended a $1.5 billion Chinese luxury real-estate project in Colombo, in a move that risks a diplomatic row with the country’s largest trading partner. The project was to have been the biggest of several Chinese investments in Sri Lankan ports and infrastructure. But the Sri Lankan government has suggested that the deal lacked transparency and did not meet environmental standards. India has also expressed its concerns about the project.
 
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Lets hope India doesn't start supporting another terrorist organisation in Sri Lanka.
First hope that Sri Lanka won't orchestrate pogroms against Tamils. That's what persuaded India to provide a counterbalancing power.

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We trained them to be guerillas and insurgents, and they were succesful at that. When they became a terrorist group, we abandoned support and in fact, shed our blood and treasure to fight them.
 
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First hope that Sri Lanka won't orchestrate pogroms against Tamils. That's what persuaded India to provide a counterbalancing power.

Black July - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Black July: Still Photographs
Black July: In Quotes


Black_July_-_from_Commons.jpg


We trained them to be guerillas and insurgents, and they were succesful at that. When they became a terrorist group, we abandoned support and in fact, shed our blood and treasure to fight them.
That is something Similar to Pakistan Supporting Taliban in 1990s when Afghan Warlords were Fighting like a dog for Afghanistan like their Bone against Each Other and abandon them when they become Terrorists in front of whole World.
 
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I think Writer has Outdated Info regarding India Sri Lanka Relations and also are not aware of Sri Lanka's Establishment because wont be writing that if he was Updated....

why would sri lanka suspent that?
 
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why would sri lanka suspent that?
He Mentioned that in his Article which I pointed out. About Sri Lanka suspending the Billions worth Investment then they wont because they COULDNT.
 
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That is something Similar to Pakistan Supporting Taliban in 1990s when Afghan Warlords were Fighting like a dog for Afghanistan like their Bone against Each Other and abandon them when they become Terrorists in front of whole World.
Except that Pakistan did not do so until the USA sternly said "you are with us or against us". In 1996, when the Taliban took over Kabul and hung the president and established a cruel regime, the only three countries in the world that supported them were Saudi Arabia, UAE and Pakistan. The Taliban were also warlords, fighting other warlords for power. When they came to power, the regime they installed was a horrible, cruel one that nobody with a consience could have supported.

If Pakistan had abandoned support for Taliban in the late 1990s, you could have claimed a moral high ground. But Pakistan did so only in 2001, when the USA declared war on them. That is why many Talibanis believe that Pak only did it at the behest of the USA, and not for any ideological reason. Besides, don't forget that even in the succeeding years, upto the present, Pakistan has been helping the Taliban against the democratically installed govt. Unlike that, once the LTTE turned bad, India unequivocally fought them and helped Sri Lanka, and even lost thousands of our troops in the fight against the LTTE. In contrast, Pakistan even today maintains links with Haqqanis and many other Talibs.
 
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Except that Pakistan did not do so. In 1996, when the Taliban took over Kabul and hung the president and established a cruel regime, the only three countries in the world that supported them were Saudi Arabia, UAE and Pakistan. The Taliban were also warlords, fighting other warlords for power. When they came to power, the regime they installed was a horrible, cruel one that nobody with a consience could have supported.
When LTTE Started their Guerrilla War and started Killing People in the Streets there was only ONE COUNTRY Supporting them and it was India and Pakistan was also Supporting Taliban when they Eliminated Opium Production from Afghanistan. So your point actually was????

If Pakistan had abandoned support for Taliban in the late 1990s, you could have claimed a moral high ground. But Pakistan did so only in 2001, when the USA declared war on them. That is why many Talibanis believe that Pak only did it at the behest of the USA, and not for any ideological reason. Besides, don't forget that even in the succeeding years, upto the present, Pakistan has been helping the Taliban against the democratically installed govt. Unlike that, once the LTTE turned bad, India unequivocally fought them an helped Sri Lanka, and even lost thousands of our troops in the fight against the LTTE. In contrast, Pakistan even today maintains links with Haqqanis and Hekmtyars and many other Talibs.
In 2001 they became Terrorists in front of whole World and we abandon them that year then after seven years of fighting on their own Pakistan Started Helping Taliban only because Afghans helping Baluch Insurgency in Pakistan and then TTP it was a REACTION of their ACTION while what was the Sri Lankan ACTION which Causes India to Support LTTE in REACTION???India losing Troops was Brave but Half Hearted Efforts because they could have controlled the situation if they wanted to and later Pakistan and Chinese Helped them Genuinely to Control the Situation.
 
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Except that Pakistan did not do so until the USA sternly said "you are with us or against us". In 1996, when the Taliban took over Kabul and hung the president and established a cruel regime, the only three countries in the world that supported them were Saudi Arabia, UAE and Pakistan. The Taliban were also warlords, fighting other warlords for power. When they came to power, the regime they installed was a horrible, cruel one that nobody with a consience could have supported.
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they did many crimes against humanity but what they did pales in comparison to what your tamil tigers did to Sri Lanka for nearly half a century

no comparison
 
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If Pakistan had abandoned support for Taliban in the late 1990s, you could have claimed a moral high ground. But Pakistan did so only in 2001, when the USA declared war on them. That is why many Talibanis believe that Pak only did it at the behest of the USA, and not for any ideological reason. Besides, don't forget that even in the succeeding years, upto the present, Pakistan has been helping the Taliban against the democratically installed govt. Unlike that, once the LTTE turned bad, India unequivocally fought them and helped Sri Lanka, and even lost thousands of our troops in the fight against the LTTE. In contrast, Pakistan even today maintains links with Haqqanis and many other Talibs.

Although OT:
There was no Taliban in 1990's , do not confuse Taliban with afghan mujhahideens of the late mid and late 80's.....
Some Mujhahideens like Hekymetyaar, Haqqani and even dostum for a short while, supported the Mullah Omar backed taliban, and some of the taliban members did fight against the Soviets, but that doesn't mean all mujhhideens became taliban. The Jemaat-e-islami-ulema members were heavily recruited and sent to afghanistan to aid Mullah Omars/ Pak Army assault on kabul.

Some of the stalwarts of the afghan Mujhhideen resistance like Ahmed Shah Massoud, Gen Fahim, and even pashtun leaders like AR Wardak, AA Jalali, Gul agha sherzai and all detested Taliban for who they really were.
 
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they did many crimes against humanity but what they did pales in comparison to what your tamil tigers did to Sri Lanka for nearly half a century

no comparison

tamil tigers represented at least some of the sri lankan tamils.

who did the taliban represent ? It is a creation & stooge of the Pakistani army
 
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