I n the new geopolitical contestation and great power rivalry that has seen the United States and China pitched against each other in spreading their respective spheres of influence in various regions of the world, the smaller countries are exposed to their vulnerabilities when wooed either by strategic compulsions or economic doles. Both are fraught with danger to their identities and future. In this competition matrix, there are proxy states that align with either of the two competitors as their choices are limited. In this scenario, where does India find itself and how does it conduct its foreign policy? India is not a pushover country.

It has the spine to stand firm on its own convictions keeping its national interests in mind and takes its own independent decisions on whether or not to ally with either of the two. There is no compromise on that. Though India has found a common view point recently on many regional and global issues with the US, China is a problematic country because of its aggressive style of foreign policy. Its policy of aggrandizement and territorial expansion in recent times has worried many of its neighbours. It has territorial disputes with many Asian countries including with India, besides over the global commons such as the South China Sea. It has poached many of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies with a view to isolate Taipei internationally. It considers Taiwan as a renegade state and one that must be incorporated with the mainland, if necessary by force.

China has used its economic inducement strategy to wean away a number of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies to its side, thereby leaving Taiwan with only 14 countries as diplomatic partners that maintain formal diplomatic ties with the territory claimed by China.........

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