India looks to broaden options

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent visits to Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand are aimed at bolstering the nation's ties in the Asia-Pacific region. Amid increasingly complex and strained relations between the United States and India, New Delhi is looking to broaden its development options. Although Modi's visit could help ease near-term economic pressures, it remains unclear whether it will advance the country's long-term strategic goals, experts said.

During talks on Tuesday, Modi and Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto agreed to deepen defense and economic cooperation, The Hindu reported.

The two countries signed nearly a dozen agreements to deepen bilateral cooperation across a wide range of sectors, including critical minerals, technology, food security, pharmaceuticals and maritime security.

After concluding his visit to Indonesia, Modi arrived in Australia. In Melbourne, he is expected to meet executives from leading Australian companies.

India is one of Australia's largest trading partners, while the country's Indian-born population of about 1 million is the largest overseas-born community in Australia.

Modi's final stop will be New Zealand, where his visit comes amid rising anti-India sentiment and tensions within the country's ruling coalition over a proposed free trade agreement between the two countries.

In a statement issued ahead of his six-day tour from Monday to Saturday, Modi said the visit would further strengthen India's bilateral ties with the three countries.

"My visit … will further strengthen India's Act East Policy, MAHASAGAR Vision as well as our outlook toward a free and open 'Indo-Pacific'," Modi said in the statement.

MAHASAGAR, or Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security Across the Regions, is India's vision of security and growth for all regions.

Qian Feng, director of the research department at Tsinghua University's National Strategy Institute, said that India's core foreign policy objective remains to pursue so-called strategic autonomy by balancing relations with major powers and hedging against geopolitical risks.

Frictions with Washington

"The current US administration's transactional approach to diplomacy has fueled concerns in India. Trade frictions and Washington's strategic retrenchment have effectively brought to an end a period in which India was able to leverage its partnership with the US and the US-led 'Indo-Pacific' strategy to advance its political, security and economic interests," he said.

India has continued to diversify its diplomatic partnerships to hedge against uncertainty in US foreign policy. At the same time, New Delhi is seeking to position itself as "the primary voice" of the Global South, he said.

"As a major developing country and an emerging economy, India hopes to translate great-power competition into opportunities to expand its political influence, attract industrial investment and secure strategic resources," he added.

Liu Le, an associate researcher at the National Institute of International Strategy of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that India aims to capitalize on the current phase of intensified major-power competition by pursuing a balanced foreign policy, allowing it to maximize its strategic and economic interests.

"As the world undergoes profound changes unseen in a century, the international environment has become increasingly complex. Against the backdrop of strained US-India relations, continued conflict in the Middle East and uncertainty surrounding the Russia-Ukraine conflict, India is seeking to adopt a more diversified diplomatic approach to maintain its 'strategic balance'," he said.

Liu said that Modi's visit reflects India's efforts to further advance its "Act East" policy, strengthen connectivity between the Indian and Pacific oceans, expand its influence in Southeast Asia and Oceania, and enhance the security of critical minerals and supply chains.

However, India's pursuit of a more diversified diplomatic strategy and its "Indo-Pacific" agenda will face significant practical constraints, experts said.

It remains a question whether India's economic and security capabilities are sufficient enough to support its broader political ambitions, Liu said.

"More importantly, US strategic retrenchment poses a growing challenge. The current US administration favors transactional diplomacy, has shown less interest in multilateral and minilateral mechanisms, and places less emphasis on ideological alignment than previous administrations. As a result, mechanisms such as the Quad, of which India is a member, have made only limited progress and produced few substantive outcomes," he added.

Qian said the Indian government sometimes presents ambitious visions for cooperation, but does not match them with adequate funding and resources.

"As a result, some economic and trade agreements remain on hold long after they are signed, amounting to little more than political declarations," he added.

Agencies contributed to this story.

liujianqiao@chinadaily.com.cn