A quiet but decisive shift in India’s foreign policy

A quiet but decisive shift in India’s foreign policy

Indian foreign policy has undergone a quiet but decisive shift from the Nehruvian non-alignment to the more recent, perhaps less lofty but issue-based alignment. This can be traced to the drastic change in India’s economic and political scenario and the attendant shift in its global outlook.

Facts:

A quiet but decisive shift in India’s foreign policy has been underway for a decade or so. This was not to have been unexpected. Non-alignment had been the staple of Indian diplomacy following independence, with exceptions of course (such as during the Sino-Indian border war or in the early years of the Cold War). But now, emerging as one of the world’s largest economies and a growing regional power, India recognized that it no longer fitted the non-aligned label.

Since India shifted to the US camp after its independence, it remained in a state of non-alignment. By signing LEMOA (Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement), India has moved on from its non-aligned past and today is an aligned state but based on issues, for example signing of LEMOA with the US on defense.

India’s growing strategic and economic influence in the Indo-Pacific region is well-known, but its role in shaping the global agenda as a player in such a critical grouping as the G-20 is still emerging. There are few things in the realm of international politics that escape India’s gaze nor any forum where New Delhi does not participate. As a result, India’s long-term ambitions are beginning to materialize.

India’s foreign policy is undergoing a silent but significant shift of gear. For decades, India has been content to play a limited and cautious global role. From non-alignment in the Cold War era to its cautious pursuit of multilateralism since then, this course served India well during its painful economic and social transformation to becoming a leading power with global ambitions.

There are rumors in the Indian capital that a tectonic shift is underway in Delhi’s foreign policy, leading to a style of hyper-energetic diplomacy at odds with its recent history. Indeed, there are signs that a new activist orientation is taking hold, based on the belief that India needs to do more than merely keep its borders secure and pursue economic gain.

The government’s deliberate shift towards pursuing security partnerships is yet another example of India’s commitment to reforms. The Modi government is extending the reform process beyond India’s borders, much as it has done at home. And this distinguishes Prime Minister Narendra Modi from his predecessors in office, who had largely remained silent on the country’s strategic and defense-related choices. This decisive shift has the potential to redefine Indian foreign policy as one of engagement with partners.

For the past decade, India’s primary public articulation of foreign-policy goals was framed in terms of two core objectives: to strengthen its strategic autonomy and to pursue an independent foreign policy. Increasingly, however, one hears instead a quiet but firm shift toward a fourth objective: the principle of partnership.

India has lately engaged more firmly with the Quad, deepening its strategic ties with Japan. It also underlined that it is not part of any specific alliance with the US or any other county which can be construed as an alliance to contain China.

India is charting a new foreign policy aimed at recalibrating its place in the world. This stems from an understanding that rather than proclaiming non-alignment as an end in itself, India needs deeper engagement with its friends and partners to develop leverage in its dealings with its competitors. The foreign policy shift is a quiet and a decisive one, but it already amounts to a serious reprioritization of India’s international relations.