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India woos Bangladesh to check China's regional clout

Wednesday, June 3, 2015

Significance

The visit follows the Indian parliament's approval on May 7 of a plan to settle a long-running border dispute with Bangladesh. The legislation had originally been opposed by Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on nationalist grounds. The party's turnabout signals Modi's desire to assert India's regional leadership in the face of an ascendant China.

Impacts

  • Bound by austerity, Indian public sector investment in Bangladesh will fail to match China's.
  • Chinese financing for key regional ports -- Chittagong, Gwadar and Hambantota -- will intensify Indian fears of encirclement.
  • Pakistan-India ties have cooled after a promising start under Modi last year, placing a breakthrough out of reach for now.

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