Paper: GS – II, Subject: International Relations, Topic: India and its neighborhood, Issue: India-Pakistan relations.
Context:
The Indo-Pacific is the central geopolitical theatre of the Asian century. The global order is fragmenting as the U.S. recalibrates its strategic-focus. Asia must take on more strategic-responsibility, particularly in maintaining peace and countering peripheral disruptors.
Key Highlights:
Reframing the India-Pakistan-China Triangle:
- India and China should be seen as stabilisers, while Pakistan must not be treated as a geopolitical peer.
- India’s strategy should focus on engaging Pakistan functionally but not giving it strategic-parity.
- The focus must shift from a security prism to a broader Indo-Pacific strategic-perspective.
The Pakistan Challenge:
- Nuclear history: Pakistan is a nuclear state with a history of exporting instability and acting as a proxy for China’s goals.
- Chinese dependence: It depends on China for military, economic, and diplomatic sustenance.
- India’s challenge: India must highlight Pakistan’s international role clearly and avoid legitimizing its status through rhetorical excess.
- Strategic-disengagement: Strategic-engagement should be minimal, transactional, and devoid of emotional overtones.
China as the Principal Strategic-Rival:
- China is the true peer rival for India; while Pakistan is the manageable risk.
- The China-Pakistan axis is transactional—China uses Pakistan asymmetrically against India.
- India must decouple this relationship and treat it as a challenge to regional autonomy.
Strategic-Objectives for India:
- Avoid dual front scenario: Avoid fighting both adversaries (China and Pakistan) simultaneously.
- Strategic-investments: Invest in flexible deterrence, infrastructure, maritime partnerships, and multi-domain preparedness.
- Recasting the Regional Narrative: India must present itself as:
- A leader of institutions
- A defender of multilateralism
- A responsible Indo-Pacific stakeholder
- Stability and balance: The regional narrative must shift from opposition-based geopolitics to a vision of balance and stability.
- Rejecting the Pakistan Prism: The India-China relationship must not be seen through the Pakistan prism. Pakistan is not a strategic-pole but a security concern. China’s involvement in Pakistan (e.g., CPEC) is more neocolonial than strategic.
- Architect of the Strategic-Arc: India should invest in alternative strategic-trilaterals (e.g., with France-UAE, US-Japan, Australia-Indonesia).
Conclusion:
True strategic-maturity lies in measured silence, not in constant confrontation. India’s focus should be on shaping the strategic-order, not reacting to Pakistan.
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