The directions of Indian foreign policy appear to have a clear-cut target — to make India an important global player individually where necessary, bilaterally where required, and multilaterally where relevant

Narendra Modi’s rise from Gujarat’s Chief Minister to India’s Prime Minister has turned out to be neighbour’s envy and world’s pride, at least in the arena of Indian foreign policy. A huge debate has been unfolding in the country on the performance of Modi Government, and several political leaders, commentators, analysts and opinion makers are busy writing the annual report card of its achievements and failures.

An important part of the current debate is Prime Minister Modi’s foreign policy. A much highlighted section of this in turn is a comparison of one year’s foreign policy initiatives of Modi and his predecessor Manmohan Singh.

At the outset, it is significant to point out the fallacy of such a comparison. No Government can accomplish much in the arena of foreign policy in the very first year of its coming to power. The simple reason is that foreign policy involves responding to the developments in the external environment over which India may have a little or no influence. Secondly, issues and events within and outside the country, requiring immediate attention or deferment of decision making, are invariably different from time to time and a just comparison is hardly doable.

Having said that, it may be useful for a Government to hear the report cards of its performance from the Opposition parties and the civil society to strengthen some of its foreign policies, abandon others or start new initiatives. What have been the foreign policy achievements and shortcomings of the Modi Government in the last one yearIJ Is there any newness in the style and substance of Modivian foreign policyIJ What could have been avoided or what more could have been done by the GovernmentIJ

New Style and Tools of Diplomacy

To begin with, Modi can be credited for using new tools and methods of conducting foreign policy. He actually began his term with a foreign policy agenda and invited SAARC leaders to attend his inauguration ceremony. Secondly, Modi’s style of diplomacy has been marked by the symbolism of a deep personal rapport with foreign leaders. Since the role of the individual in foreign policy implementation of any country is crucial, importance of Modi addressing foreign leaders with their first names, expressing friendship with bear hugs, taking selfies, breaking protocols to meet them outside the capitals, feeding the fishes, chai pe charcha etc should not be belittled.

History is witness to the fact that good policies in foreign affairs do not get implemented in time without the attention of the leaders at the top of the decision-making structure, and several bilateral standoffs are relatively quickly resolved when the heads of Governments respond. Thus, rapport between leaders is essential and Modi has taken extra pains to develop such affinity with world leaders.

A large number of ethnic Indians live around the world. Some of them are influential in the political and economic lives of the countries they reside in. The Government of India has taken various steps in the past to harness the energy of the Indian diaspora for the benefit of the country. No Prime Minister other than Modi has been able to use this gizmo of diplomacy so deftly. Directly communicating with NRIs in the many countries he visited will show results in the near future. Those who threw brickbats and made sarcastic remarks have failed to understand that Modi did this after winning elections, and interaction with overseas Indian communities was a valuable exercise that would serve the national interest.

Secondly, Modi’s ‘Make in India’ campaign is indubitably another new tool of economic diplomacy. Drawing commitments of foreign investments to the tune of billions of dollars from Japan, China, Russia, Australia and American big business through this campaign was a commendable achievement of the Modi Government.

Critics are asking for results here and now and what can be more incongruous than this! All Governments adopt various methods to promote the economic interests of the state, but Modi’s method has a difference. Although “Make in India’ campaign resembles election campaigns, none can dispute the intelligence of foreign Governments, most of whom have perceived a strong leader in Modi and have developed new confidence in India to make investments. The success of this policy will depend on whether the Government can rally support at home, acquire broad political consensus and institute reforms to attract and then keep foreign investments.

Major Accomplishments

Modi Government indisputably has admirable accomplishments in the area of India’s relationship with all major global players. To start with, the much applauded Indo-US strategic partnership evolving since the very beginning of the 21st century was under considerable strain when Modi became the Prime Minister. There was a general perception that Indo-US relationship would see worse days ahead under the new Government whose head was denied a visa to enter the US for about a decade.

Modi flummoxed everyone by swiftly accepting an invite from President Barack Obama and making a path-breaking trip to Washington in September 2014. The momentum in the bilateral strategic partnership was soon back on track and the speed was better reflected when Obama agreed to be the chief guest at the Republic Day celebrations in Delhi and to hold the second summit meeting with Prime Minister Modi. All stalled dialogue processes resumed and the American companies demonstrated enthusiasm to do business with India. The nuclear logjam that had bedevilled implementation of the 123 Agreement appeared to have been smoothened with a political understanding reached between the US President and Indian Prime Minister.

It was with this nuclear understanding with Obama that Modi planned to visit Canada — the first visit by an Indian Prime Minister in full 40 years! The best takeaway from Ottawa was an agreement by which Canada agreed to supply uranium to feed the nuclear reactors. The longest row in India’s ties with Canada over nuclear issue vanished into thin air.

Earlier, Modi had hit it off well with Australian Prime Minister during two summits with him that also brought India a coveted nuclear reward in the form of Canberra’s willingness, after much dilly-dally, to sell uranium to India.

Modi’s visit to Paris likewise dexterously dealt with a gridlock on the Rafale aircraft deal between the two countries. This deal had earlier displeased the Americans and then had apparently distressed the French. But India had to protect its own interests. The new deal with the French enabled India to acquire some ready-to-fly aircraft badly needed by the Indian Air Force and partially satisfied the French who made some money out of it. Critics soon pointed out this deal’s negative implication for ‘Make in India’ policy.

Modi’s visit to Germany and Japan, and more recently to China and South Korea more than compensated the disappointment of such critics. The leaders of these countries committed more than half a trillion dollars of investment that would also, if implemented properly, contribute towards ‘Make in India’ project. Moreover, defence relationship with Japan has been deepened and South Korea is a new but robust partner-in-making in the defence sector of India.

Besides the US, the next key external relationship of India is China. Over the decades, the broad adversarial ties with China are undergoing a brisk transformation along with China’s rise as an important economic partner of India. Analysts see India and China as past enemies, persistent adversaries, potential rivals and also as the two most powerful poles in the emerging balance of power. There is certain degree of Sinophobia in India and there is increasing number of Sinofiles in the country as well.

Modi’s attempt to turn China into a friend that may compete but cooperate, and that may disagree but not disengage was clearly visible when he skilfully handled issues related to border incursions by the PlA during his summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping. His membership in the Chinese social media was a master move in the realm of public diplomacy.

In a way, both China and the US feel comfortable with doing business with India, and Modi’s diplomatic moves in this regard are laudable. Critics who point out that Xi Jinping’s promise to invest more than $46 billion in Pakistan and only a little more than $20 billion in India reflect the failure of Modi’s foreign policy should not overlook the history of longstanding Sino-Pakistan alliance and India-China hostility. 

Given the emerging cold confrontation between the US and China in the Asia Pacific, India’s management of relations with Washington and Beijing assumes special significance. Modi’s ‘Act East’ policy has to be calibrated in a way that India does not appear to be a swing state sometimes supporting China and at other times the US in the diplomatic battleground of the Asia Pacific.

The Obama administration appears determined to pivot its strategic engagements towards Asia at a time China has begun to carve out a new space for its influence in the region. This has sparked cold confrontation in South China Sea and East China Sea. Modi Government’s interactions and engagements with China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and the ASEAN members, newer cooperation with Mongolia and the South Pacific Island nations give the impression that India would like to act as an autonomous pillar in Asian affairs.

last, yet equally important positive and innovative policy of the Modi Government in the last one year has been amply mirrored in New Delhi’s resolve to pay utmost attention to India’s immediate neighbourhood and the Indian Ocean region. The Prime Minister visited some countries that did not figure on the priority list of previous Governments for decades. He also sought to quickly implement certain agreements, such as the real estate exchange with Bangladesh, that were long pending. Modi’s visit to Bhutan, Nepal and Sri lanka broke new grounds in neighbourhood diplomacy and created the image of an India that would not ignore or marginalise neighbours while promoting ties with big powers.

What THE Critics Say

There is not much that a new Government can do in foreign policy when the domestic agenda is voluminous and the number of independent states has touched the 200 mark. Yet, an important region that should have got its due attention by Prime Minister Modi is Persian Gulf. This region is actually India’s neighbourhood, temporarily houses millions of Indian workers, critical for India’s energy security and sends huge amount of foreign remittances every year.

There is no doubt that Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj, other ministers and high officials from MEA maintained normal ties with many important countries that did not draw much attention of the PMO. What was perhaps missing was adequate media coverage of such activities. Critics have also pointed out that the Prime Minister skipped the Bandung meet of Afro-Asian leaders and made space for China, Japan and other countries to steal the show. Inability of the Government to deal with the gridlock in Indo-Japan nuclear negotiations has also been pointed out by analysts as a failure.

There are others who would have liked the Prime Minister to spend more time at home than abroad. They would have liked the Foreign Minister to be the forward player in the game of diplomacy. But in the contemporary world of diplomacy the heads of Governments in all countries, democracies, autocracies and communist, are in the forefront. India is no exception. Some previous Indian Prime Ministers were either more or as equally engaged in diplomacy as the current Prime Minister.

While no foreign policy vision document or a white paper or strategy report has been issued by the new Government, the directions of Indian foreign policy appear to have a clear-cut target and that is to make India an important global player individually where necessary, bilaterally where required, and multilaterally where relevant.

Only a year ago, India’s perception in the international arena was that of a country whose economy was in “intensive care unit”, whose foreign policy lacked direction, whose defence preparedness appeared feeble, and governance was marred by corruption and scams.

Today, there is strong leadership, no political instability with a single party acquiring a massive mandate to rule, an effort to institute reforms and a desire to elevate Indian economy and urban life and a desire on the part of the Government to play an international role commensurate with India’s credentials.

What Indians think of themselves is important, but how outsiders perceive India in this age of globalisation is equally significant. And India has certainly acquired a positive image abroad!

The writer is Professor, School of International Studies, JNU