India’s Strategic Pivot: New Direction Toward Asia

Syllabus: GS2/International Relations

Context

• The focus of India’s foreign policy toward Asia reflects the evolving global order, where Asia is emerging as the epicenter of economic dynamism, technological innovation, and geopolitical influence.

Why Does Asia Matters More Than Ever?

• Economic Powerhouse: Asia is home to some of the world’s fastest-growing economies, including China, India, South Korea, and ASEAN nations.
  • It contributes over 60% of global GDP growth, making it a magnet for trade, investment, and innovation.
• Shared Cultural and Historical Ties: India’s civilizational links with Southeast and East Asia offer a foundation for trust and cooperation that Western alliances often lack.
• Regional Stability and Multipolarity: A stronger Asian bloc can counterbalance Western dominance and foster a more equitable global governance structure.
  • Frameworks like BRICS, SCO, and ASEAN are becoming increasingly interlinked.

Asia’s Strategic Centrality and Pivotal Role

• The Tianjin SCO Summit (2025) symbolized Asia’s growing unity, as heads of states from Russia, India and China came together — a moment comparable to the cohesion traditionally seen in G7 meetings.
• The ‘G2’ Summit in Busan between USA and China reflected a deeper global realization: the center of power has shifted to Asia.
• The US Secretary of State acknowledged that ‘the story of the 21st century will be written in Asia’.

India’s Role in the Asian Order

• Historically, India’s foreign policy has leaned toward the West, especially in the post-Cold War era.
  • Strategic partnerships with the US, Europe, and Australia have brought defense cooperation and economic benefits.
  • India’s stakes in West Asia are immense, with over 9 million Indian expatriates and $30 billion in remittances from the Gulf.
• It led to missed opportunities for India in Asia, where regional frameworks like RCEP and ASEAN-led initiatives have progressed without India’s full participation.
• Currently, India is navigating complex relationships with China, the US, and Russia to balance great powers and maintain strategic autonomy while engaging in multilateral forums like the SCO and the QUAD Forums.
• India’s choice is not between the USA and China, but rather toward an integrated Asian future.
  • Asia’s cooperation differs from the colonial or rules-based order of the West — it’s built on shared supply chains and mutual interests.

Concerns & Challenges For India

• India’s Strategic Inflection Point: India’s improving ties with China and Russia highlight a regional recalibration, with US unilateralism reducing multilateral space.
  • The US’s implicit concern — preventing another China — underscores why India needs to pursue ‘trust but verify’ diplomacy with China, especially amid border negotiations that could redefine Kashmir’s geopolitics. 
• Fragmented Regional Focus: India’s ‘strategic silence’ in West Asia, despite the region’s critical importance—hosting over 9 million Indian workers and supplying 40% of India’s oil.
  • It undermines India’s credibility as a consistent regional actor.
• Neighbourhood Dynamics: China’s retreat from the CPEC, Pakistan’s new debt dependence on ADB loans, and US ambitions for a Bagram base reflect a volatile neighbourhood.
  • India’s six-month waiver on US sanctions over Chabahar Port opens strategic access to Iran, Afghanistan, Central Asia, and Russia.
  • The time is ripe for a national debate on defence allocations, emphasizing innovation-driven capability rather than imported platforms.

Way Forward: India’s Assertion on Strategic Autonomy

• Reasserting Strategic Autonomy: India’s strategic autonomy needs to recognize its dual global agendas — as a fast-growing economy and as a representative of the Global South.
  • Its priorities in sustainable development, technology, and value-chain integration should reflect India’s unique trajectory, not imported frameworks.
  • India’s uniqueness lies in balancing high growth and development priorities. Within the UN, its SDGs align more with the Global South.
• Embracing New Global Rules: The interconnected digital economy now defines technological capacity, economic growth, and military power. India must therefore:
  • Protect national data sovereignty;
  • Accelerate endogenous technological innovation;
  • Strengthen local defense manufacturing; and,
  • Promote inclusive economic growth.
• Cyber Warfare as the New Frontier: Cyber warfare, not land-based operations, will dominate 21st-century security.
  • India’s advantage in AI, digital defense, and cyber capability need to become the core pillar of national security.
• AI Sovereignty: Artificial Intelligence will define India’s economic and strategic future. The Parliamentary Standing Committee has rightly called for a 20-fold funding increase to build sovereign AI capacity. These include:
  • National strategic AI collaboration;
  • High-end computational infrastructure;
  • Development of proprietary AI models; and,
  • Talent pipelines driven by the Prime Minister’s Office.
• Redefining Global Rules: The technological interdependence drives power in the 21st century.
  • It means no compromise on national data, local innovation, defence production, and inclusive growth for India.
  • India can ensure double-digit inclusive growth and global power status by 2047 with AI sovereignty.

Source: TH