Modi Foreign Policy

(3 Articles)
3 years of Modi's foreign policy: Achievements, obstacles and
more
25 May 2017 | By Anupama Vijayakumar
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Modi government has redefined India's foreign policy through expanded,

active engagement with various countries. It has further made its presence felt
at many international forums.

While adopting a previously unseen confrontational approach against China's

expansionist ambitions through opposing the One-belt One-road Initiative, it
also sprung into action at times with surgical strikes against Pakistan.

As he completes 3 years, let's understand his foreign policies!

In context: 3 years of Modi's foreign policy: An evaluation

❮
Personality
Modi and India's foreign policy
A great deal of India's foreign policy transformation can be attributed to PM
Modi's personal pro-activeness. Our approach to external engagements is
largely defined by Modi's global outlook, underscored by linking domestic
change to foreign policy. It has broadly been termed "The Modi Doctrine".

Compared to his predecessor, Manmohan Singh, he enjoys domestic support,

which has enabled him to easily achieve diplomatic gains.

The Modi Doctrine: Key priorities

Modi's approach is fundamentally structured around bringing security and
prosperity to all Indians under the "India First" Policy. Recognizing that India's
prosperity is linked to South Asian stability, "Neighbourhood first", policy
intends to realize an integrated, well-connected neighbourhood.

It further focuses on strengthening cultural ties, and engagement with the

Indian diaspora. It also looks to take on greater international responsibilities
becoming a "global rule-maker".

Essential features of India's external affairs according to PM Modi

These include: rebuilding connectivity in India's immediate and extended
geographies; shaping relationships networked with India's economic priorities;
making India a human resource power, creating Indian narratives on global
challenges; reconfiguring global institutions, and spreading the benefits of
India's civilizational legacies as a global good.
China Policy
Quiet to confrontational
While India never spoke against China's hegemonic ambitions before, it
started doing so under the Modi government, through engaging with the
Tibetan government in exile and even provoking China by hosting the Dalai
Lama in Arunachal Pradesh .

India also remained absent from China's OBOR summit citing sovereignty
concerns. EU and Sri Lanka had echoed India's concern later, much to
China's frustration.

Strengthening economic relationship with China- A contrast

Despite rising tensions, India and China continue to work together on multiple
areas. China is further the 17th largest contributor of Foreign Direct
Investments to India, steadily climbing up from 28th and 35th positions in
2014 and 2011 respectively.

South Asia policy

South Asia minus Pakistan
Modi has used diplomatic, military and legal means to deal with a growing
menace from Pakistan and found remarkable successes through victory in the
Kulbhushan Jadhav case at the International Court of Justice. Surgical strikes
were also conducted in Pakistan.

Along with drawing international scorn upon Pakistan's home-grown terror,

India also launched the SAARC satellite providing services to all South Asian
countries except Pakistan.

Striving for South Asia minus Pakistan

Envisioning a South Asia minus Pakistan, India revived the BIMSTEC, a
collective involving all south Asian countries except Pakistan. India has further
extended a $4.5 billion line of credit to Bangladesh and is focusing on joint
projects in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

'Act East' and 'Link West'

Rechristening the earlier Look East Policy as Act East Policy, Modi
government has bolstered diplomatic and military engagements with South
east Asian states including Vietnam and Singapore and has gained from
strategic partnership with Japan.

India has further reached out to Arab countries including UAE, Qatar and
Oman. India has also simultaneously engaged with Israel, managing to boost
'Make in India' in defence.

Soft power and cultural diplomacy

India has effectively made use of its tag as the birthplace of Buddhism in
diplomatic engagements with countries including Mongolia, Japan and Sri
Lanka. Modi also effectively displayed India's soft power diplomacy when 21
June started to be celebrated worldwide as International Yoga Day.
Analysis
What now?
Modi's foreign policy has given India an image boost in the international
arena. India further seems to have built and strengthened links in areas
including Africa and Oceania. However, despite expanded engagement,
India's core considerations are shaped by Pakistan and China.

Moreover, India is purported to derive benefits out of numerous economic and

defence deals, although the outcomes are still awaited on these.
Deconstructing the Modi Doctrine: Three Years of Modi’s
Foreign Policy
24 May 17
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To attempt a critical appraisal of India’s foreign policy over the last three
years, Brookings India organized a panel discussion on “Deconstructing the
Modi Doctrine: Three Years of Modi’s Foreign Policy.” The discussion
featured Dr. Vijay Chauthaiwale, Dr. Rajiv Kumar, and Dr. Sreeram Chaulia,
and was moderated by Dhruva Jaishankar.

View Dhruva Jaishankar’s presentation.

The following summary highlights some of Prime Minister Modi’s foreign
policy achievements in the last three years, as well as criticisms and
challenges going forward.

Key Features: 
o Prime Minister Modi’s foreign policy is driven to a great extent by
personal ambition. He has been completely unideological about his
foreign policy and treats it as only an instrument of national interest, a
significant departure from the past.

o PM Modi has tried to manage various conflicting interests in favour of

India, through his India-first policy. For example, previously complex
relationships with Saudi Arabia, Israel, the UAE and Iran have received
new impetus.

o Prime Minister Modi linking with West Asia for economic prosperity is
indicative of the principle of national interest being paramount. He has
not only given impetus to connecting with major Muslim powers of the
region but also Israel.

o Prime Minister Modi has made a pragmatic distinction between Indian

security and economic interests. For example, despite security
concerns with China, the economic relationship with China remains
stable.

o There is a clear articulation of the tight integration between Indian

foreign policy and domestic economic interests. Foreign direct
investment has continued unabated despite domestic issues. Initiatives
such as Make in India, Digital India as well as social initiatives like
Swatch Bharat are also examples of this integration.

o Prime Minister Modi has managed to engage with and visit important
countries that have not witnessed Indian Prime Ministerial visits in
decades. Canada and the UAE being examples of this.
 o Connecting with the diaspora in countries around the world has been
an important objective for the government. Engagements with diaspora
have not only raised the stature of Indian diaspora in countries, but
also rendered them a political force to be reckoned with.

o With cross-border surgical strikes, the Modi government has overcome

the issue of strategic restraint that constrained our national security
position for decades.

Challenges going forward: 

o Despite PM Modi’s persona and initiative, Indian foreign policy
continues to be driven by the bureaucracy, which is not always
strategic in its thinking and often ideologically dogmatic. This is
perhaps true especially with respect to the South Asia policy.
o Defence reforms don’t seem to have the required sense of emergency,
especially if India is to project its power onto the world stage.
o Policy on South Asian neighbours such as Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri
Lanka, Myanmar and Afghanistan, and even Pakistan, should be
reviewed. Indian provinces and states should be encouraged to
become critical players in foreign policy.
o India-China relations will be one of the major challenges for India in the
months to come. Hyphenation of the China-Pakistan relationship vis-à-
vis India needs to be carefully monitored.
o The Indo-U.S. relationship is also likely to be more transactional under
the new Trump administration, unlike the personal bonhomie between
PM Modi and former President Obama. This could pose new
challenges as well as opportunities. Therefore, traditional calculations
might not work with the new U.S. administration.
o Relations with Russia also need to be revisited in the light of the
changing geo-political landscape
o The possible emergence of the G2 (China and U.S.) can pose a
significant challenge to Indian interests and therefore should be
carefully monitored and handled.
o Indian outreach and engagement with Southeast Asian and African
countries has been underwhelming and therefore has scope for
improvement.
o India’s inability to gain entry into global governance platforms such as
the Nuclear Suppliers’ Group and the UN Security Council have been
somewhat of a setback for the government.

In conclusion, overall opinion of Prime Minister Modi’s hectic foreign policy

has been largely positive. However, this positive momentum can only be
sustained by continued domestic economic growth and stability.
Modi’s Top 10 Best Achievements From Foreign Tours
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Whenever Narendra Modi goes on a foreign trip, his bete noire’s taunted him
for working hard so much to enhance country’s image at the global level. In
fact, Narendra Modi became the first Prime Minister to be criticised for
working hard.

However, people are always curious about Narendra Modi’s visits to foreign
countries but what they couldn’t understand is his (the country’s)
achievements. Here we have listed out ‘Top 10 Achievements’ of Narendra
Modi’s government which have not been highlighted by few foreign-sponsored
Indian media houses:

1. The Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan & External Affairs

Minister Sushma Swaraj concluded the deal after convincing Saudi Arabia not
to charge ‘On-Time Delivery Premium charges’ on Crude Oil. Thus saved the
country thousands of crores.

2. India will build 4 Hydroelectric power stations + Dams in Bhutan only to get
it’s lion’s share in Green energy that will be produced in future from
these projects.

3. India succeeded in getting the international project of building the Biggest

ever dam in Nepal due to which India will fetch 83% Green Energy produced
from the biggest hydropower station for free. China had tried hard to get the
project but in vain.

4. Modi succeeded in convincing Japan to invest $ 30Billion in Delhi –Mumbai

Investment Corridor (DMIC) which is an exclusive rail line project for fast
transportation.

5. Modi government has developed a strategic relationship with Vietnam

against all odds which has now agreed to facilitate Oil exploration to ONGC-
Videsh dispelling the Congress party’s fears of a backlash from China.

6. Modi could increase Oil Imports from Iran despite the ban by the USA
besides getting a go-ahead to build ‘Chabahar Port’ in Iran encircling
Pakistan. India can now have exclusive access to our Naval ships in this port.
With this, India can checkmate Pak moves.

7. India could get additional supplies of Uranium from Australia for its energy
production.

8. Modi government’s crucial achievement was to make Sri Lanka back out

from Chinese contract of developing ‘Hambantota Port’. The China could get
the contract during the UPA regime. According to a recent CIA report that
mentioned about the major role played by RAW in displacing President
Rajapakse in elections in Srilanka.

9. Modi also could make China invest heavily in India to bring down the trade
deficit with China which has committed an investment of $20 billion in India.
That’s nearly Rs.140,000 crores in Indian currency.

10. Modi accorded top priority to country’s security who could tie-up with US,
Israel & Japan to participate in Malabar exercise this time to checkmate Pak
besides succeeding in concluding the import of high-end military drones from
Isreal to use in surgical strikes along the borders.
Article 4 – Gen reading
Three years of Narendra Modi’s foreign policy
The Narendra Modi government has been unabashed in changing India’s
foreign policy trajectory in the three years that it has been in power
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As the Narendra Modi government completes its three years in office, there is
a big rush to provide a report card on its performance. The government itself
has been highlighting its achievements and the Prime Minister has welcomed
evaluations of his government’s performance, suggesting that “constructive
criticism strengthens our democracy”. But three years is a rather short time to
evaluate any government’s performance, especially one which came to office
with the kind of transformative agenda the Modi government has. This is a
government which wants to reshape the fundamentals of Indian polity, society
and economy, so it is not surprising that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
talks of a two- to three-term Modi government. 

Yet the political strategists in the BJP also know that democracy is a fickle
beast and when the trough comes, it comes all of a sudden and stays for a
long time, as the Congress Party is experiencing at the moment. So the need
for regular tom-tomming of the government’s achievements even as the party
prepares for a long haul in government. 

Foreign policy is one area where the Modi government has performed
reasonably well. This verdict will not be widely accepted by the government’s
critics at home but travel anywhere in the world and you will find that New
Delhi is now viewed very differently compared to just three years back. Modi
has asserted Indian interests in a way that few had anticipated when he had
assumed office given his lack of experience on the foreign policy front. He has
upped India’s profile in global affairs, something even his critics will have to
give him credit for. 

For the initial few months, an argument was being made that while Modi was
pursuing foreign policy with great vigour and enthusiasm, the change was
largely of style, not substance. It is indeed true that the foreign policies of
major powers do not change dramatically with a change in leadership.
Structural factors matter more in shaping their contours. But if we look closely,
we will find that something substantive has changed in Indian foreign policy.
Where in the past Indian diplomacy was responding to the tectonic shifts in
global politics by stealth, the Modi government has been unabashed in
changing India’s foreign policy trajectory. Gone is the diffidence of the past in
articulating the need for robust Indo-US ties. India’s relations with Israel have
finally come out of the closet. And for a change, rather than Beijing
challenging New Delhi, India is standing up to China and challenging its
profile.
Non-alignment has been given a decent burial and major power diplomacy is
being conducted on the basis of strict reciprocity. In the name of non-
alignment, New Delhi had been pandering to Chinese sensitivities, imaginary
or otherwise, for far too long. Now India is building pressure points around the
Chinese periphery and is not hesitant in using powers like the US, Japan and
Australia to stabilize the Indo-Pacific. While sections of the Indian intellectual
establishment still retain reflexive anti-Americanism, Modi has used his
decisive mandate to carve a new partnership with the US to harness its
capital and technology for his domestic development agenda. He is not
ambivalent about positioning India as a challenger to China’s growing regional
might and assertiveness. 

This has also meant that India’s adversaries are now facing an unpredictable
Indian foreign policy. Where in the past there was a certain predictability in
New Delhi’s responses to Chinese and Pakistani shenanigans, the Modi
government has introduced some uncertainty into the relationship. This has
given India greater strategic space for manoeuvring. It has climbed the
escalation ladder, which many in the country had been scared of climbing for
a long time, and all that Islamabad has been left with is to deny the Indian
military’s response. For long, it was Pakistan that was testing Indian
boundaries by needling India. Now the shoe is on the other foot. The same
goes for China, where India’s response to the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)
was a reminder to Beijing that New Delhi too can keep its cards close to its
chest till the last minute, and has many ways to respond to the challenge
being posed by the Beijing-Islamabad collusion on the China-Pakistan
Economic Corridor (Cpec). 

There are challenges, for sure. The Modi government is willing to take risks
and there are no cost-free risks. There are also some fundamental changes
shaping the domestic political milieu in the West and the great power
relationships are undergoing a shift which India will have to navigate with
utmost seriousness. The Sino-Russian relationship is acquiring connotations
which can have long-term consequences for Indian interests and Sino-US ties
can also become transactional under Donald Trump. 

But these are the challenges that a confident India should be able to manage
if its economic fundamentals remain strong and if it can start getting its
defence policy in shape. For a Prime Minister who was being criticized for
being provincial when he assumed office, the last three years have underlined
that Modi has the potential to gradually but decisively shift Indian foreign
policy in directions which few would have dared to try before. His critics will
continue to disagree but Indian foreign policy will look very different with Modi
at the helm for another few years. For Indian polity’s decisive shift to the
“right” is also a structural change which will have global reverberations.  

Harsh V. Pant is a distinguished fellow at the Observer Research Foundation

and professor of international relations at King’s College London.