With neighbours like these

Arecent news report dealt with the problems faced by the denizens of a border town in the European Union and it caught the fancy of many netizens. Baarle is a town on the Belgian-Dutch border, where the demarcation separating the two nations, a cross painted on alternating cobblestones in a single row, runs through private homes, restaurants and community centres. The residents live there peacefully, save for the occasional disagreement that is amicably sorted out. This example of bonhomie shared by people across borders stands in contrast to the thorny relationship India shares with its two immediate neighbours and perpetual pain points on the diplomatic front, China and Pakistan. The terms of this dysfunctional relationship were highlighted in no unclear terms during the recent 76th United Nations General Assembly where India sharply retorted to Pakistan when the latter brought up the issue of Kashmir. The First Secretary at India’s UN Mission in New York Sneha Dubey termed Pakistan as an arsonist disguised as a firefighter, in her refutation of Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s comments. While the leader of the neighbouring nation spoke about the abrogation of Article 370 and Pakistan being a victim of American ungratefulness, the young diplomat called out Islamabad for nurturing dreaded terrorists, who enjoy a free pass in the nation. The friction-laden rapport with our other neighbour China, which has now postured itself as the diplomatic equivalent of a schoolyard bully, was also on full display at the UNGA. China’s indelicate handling of the probe into the origin of the coronavirus, as well its efforts to strongarm global institutions such as the World Bank to improve its Doing Business rankings were some of the zingers fired by India during this meet. Our relationship with China, which had already been fraught with tension over long-standing border issues, and Beijing’s policy of expansionism, had nosedived in the aftermath of the brutal clash in Galwan Valley in June last year. The loss of 20 Indian soldiers on the Line of Actual Control was the first time in 45 years that the nation experienced fatalities on the LAC. The skirmish precipitated a ban on 57 Chinese apps by the Centre. And two weeks ago, the annual bilateral trade of 2021 through Shipki La in Kinnaur district was called off due to stringent COVID protocols. However, traders said the political conflict between the two nations due to the Galwan clash scuttled the bilateral trade. Trade along this route experienced a 30-year lull after the 1962 India-China war. It was only in 1992, that bilateral trade resumed before the Doklam stand-off of 2017 once again took the relationship downhill. Today, India finds itself entrenched in a predicament. Its relationship with its two largest nuclear-powered neighbours could be described as stress-prone, at best. China and Pakistan share camaraderie for militaristic and geopolitical reasons. Beijing has supported Islamabad’s stance on Kashmir while Islamabad has toed Beijing’s line when it comes to contentious problems involving Tibet, Taiwan and Xinjiang. Both the nations have pledged their unequivocal support to the new Taliban regime in Afghanistan. The development has ruffled India’s feathers, considering how non-state actors nurtured in Afghan’s provinces and supported by Pakistan have been instrumental in waging war against India more than once. But, India now counts itself as a strategic ally to its far-flung democratic peer, the US, as well as Australia and Japan, thanks to the Quad. The alliance is an answer to Beijing’s bolstered aggression in the Indo-Pacific waters. It will be interesting to note how India will steer the course of its relationships with its contentious neighbours in the years to come. Whether our newfound allies, whose assurances look so strong on paper can offer us tangible advantages, especially in the backdrop of America’s diminishing influence in the region, remains to be seen.