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Home / IAS Preparation / India'S Relations With Its Neighbours

India's Relations with Neighbouring Countries - UPSC Notes

Last Updated on Dec 01, 2024
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India is the largest and most significant country in the South Asia region. Its land borders include Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nepal, China, Bhutan, Myanmar, and Bangladesh, as well as a sea border with Sri Lanka and the Maldives. India’s foreign policy, known as the “Neighborhood First” Policy, proactively focuses on establishing links with India’s Relations with Its Neighbors. The policy is designed to improve connections with neighbors while promoting global cooperation and peace. India's Look East Policy has developed greater economic and strategic partnerships with South Asian countries such as South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan. India has friendly relations with Persian Gulf countries and African Union members.

This topic of “India’s Relations with Its Neighbours” is important from the perspective of the UPSC IAS Examination, which falls under General Studies Paper 2 (Mains) and General Studies Paper 1 (Preliminary) and particularly in the International Relations – India and its neighbourhood section of the UPSC Exam. 

In this article, we shall discuss India and its relation with neighbouring countries & More!

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India’s Neighbourhood First Policy
  • India's Neighbourhood First Policy is a foreign policy initiative that was launched by the Indian government in 2014. 
  • The policy aims to strengthen India's relationship with its neighboring countries, focusing on the South Asian region. 
  • The Neighbourhood First Policy is based on mutual benefit and aims to build stronger economic, political, and cultural ties between India and its neighboring countries.
  •  It focuses on improving connectivity, enhancing trade and investment, promoting cultural exchanges, and addressing shared challenges such as terrorism, climate change, and poverty.
  • Since its independence, India’s foreign policy has been continually developing, and connectivity with its neighbours has always been a top objective for the country.
  • The Neighbourhood First Policy, a key component of India’s foreign policy, focuses on peaceful ties and collaborative synergetic co-development with its South Asian neighbours.
  • India’s ‘Neighborhood First’ strategy focuses on developing mutually beneficial, people-centered regional frameworks for peace and development.
  • India’s “Neighborhood First” Policy aims to strengthen connections with its neighbours while advancing international peace and cooperation.

Purpose India’s Neighbourhood First Policy

The purpose of India's Neighbourhood First Policy is to strengthen India's relationship with its neighboring countries and to promote regional stability, prosperity, and security in South Asia and beyond. The policy is based on the idea that a stable and prosperous neighborhood is essential for India's economic and security interests. The Neighbourhood First Policy is also part of India's larger vision of becoming a leading power in the region and the world. India seeks to increase its influence and leverage in regional and global affairs by building strong relationships with its neighbors.

Connectivity

  • The connectivity of the Indo-Bangladesh Waterways has helped the supply chain, particularly between Bangladesh and Northeast India.
  • A $484 million freight transportation project called the Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project will link the seaports of Sittwe in Rakhine State, Myanmar, with Kolkata in eastern India.
  • The Rail Services Agreement (RSA) 2004 regulates rail freight transit between India and Nepal.
  • India has also signed Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with members of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).

Cooperation in Economic Sector

  • The commercial relations between Sri Lanka and India are governed by the India-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement (ISFTA), signed on December 28, 1998, and entered into force on March 1, 2000.
  • The ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement (the “Agreement”) is a trade agreement between ASEAN’s 10 member countries (including Myanmar) and India.
  • In April 1993, the seven SAARC member nations of India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka signed the SAARC Preferential Trading Arrangement (SAPTA) Agreement.

Cooperation in Disaster Management

  • The geographical position of this southern part of Asia causes a variety of natural calamities, including volcanoes, earthquakes, cyclones, monsoons, and, ultimately, enormous floods.
  • About 2 billion people in this region are now more susceptible to longer and more intense monsoon seasons and droughts due to climate change.
  • India is leading in bolstering South Asian nations’ collaboration to reduce calamities.

Cooperation in Military and Defense

India is also concentrating on increasing regional security through military cooperation by conducting and participating in different defence exercises.

Joint Exercise Name

Exercise Type

Between

Mitra Shakti

Joint Military Exercise

India-Sri Lanka

SLINEX

Joint Naval Ecercise

India-Sri Lanka

Surya Kiran

Joint Military Exercise

India-Nepal

PANEX-21

Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) Exercise

India-BIMSTEC

Hand in Hand

Joint Military Exercise

India-China

SAMPRITI

Joint Military Exercise

India-Bangladesh
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India-China relations
  • India and China are Asia’s two growing powers. In addition to being the most populous nation, they are also home to two of the world’s oldest civilizations, the Chinese and Indus Valley Civilizations.
  • Historically, India and China have had cultural and commerce ties dating back to the 2nd century BC.
  • On April 1, 1950, India and China formally established diplomatic relations.
  • The year 2020 marks the 70th anniversary of China-India diplomatic relations.
  • However, the border dispute between India and China dominated the 1950s, eventually leading to war between the two nations in 1962.
  • China began to claim huge portions of Indian territory in the North East Frontier Agency (NEFA, now Arunachal Pradesh) and Ladakh by issuing maps depicting these areas as part of China.
  • In 1956-57, China expanded its frontiers and built a 110-mile-long road through India’s Aksai China region (Ladakh).
  • Relations between India and China are currently deteriorating. The two great powers clash along their disputed boundary in the Himalayan area.
  • In June 2017, a military standoff occurred between India and China on the Doklam plateau, located at a tri-junction between India, China, and Bhutan.

Indo-Pakistan relations
  • The two nations have a complicated and mainly antagonistic relationship founded on several historical and political events, most notably the partition of British India in August 1947; the India-Pakistan border is one of the world’s most militarised international boundaries.
  • Since British India’s partition in 1947, territorial disputes over the Kashmir area have caused two of the three major Indo-Pakistani wars, in 1947 and 1965, and a limited war in 1999 (Kargil war).
  • However, India wants cordial relations with Pakistan as part of its “Neighborhood First Policy.”
  • India’s continuous view is that conflicts between India and Pakistan should be addressed bilaterally and peacefully.
  • India would not compromise on national security matters and will take robust and decisive action to counter all attempts to undermine India’s security and territorial integrity.

India-Sri Lanka relations
  • India and Sri Lanka have a long history of intellectual, cultural, religious, and linguistic contact spanning over 2,500 years.
  • Since Independence, India, and Sri Lanka have established bilateral relations on various levels, and significant advancements in the execution of development aid programs for internally displaced people (IDPs) and underprivileged groups of the Sri Lankan population have helped to strengthen the two nations’ relationship.
  • High-level exchanges of visits have characterized political relations between India and Sri Lanka at periodic intervals.
  • The India-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement (ISFTA) was signed in 1998 and has been in effect since March 2000.
  • India and Sri Lanka have a strengthening defense partnership based on intensive training and service-to-service links.
  • The Cultural Cooperation Agreement, signed on November 29, 1977, in New Delhi by the governments of India and Sri Lanka, serves as the foundation for the periodic Cultural Exchange Programs between the two nations.

India-Bhutan Relations
  • India and Bhutan have a unique and long-standing bilateral relationship marked by mutual trust, friendliness, and understanding.
  • The unique connection has been fostered through regular high-level visits and conversations between the two nations.
  • India and Bhutan established diplomatic relations in 1968, creating an Indian special office in Thimphu.
  • The Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation between India and Bhutan was signed in 1949 and amended in February 2007.
  • In 2018, India and Bhutan commemorated the Golden Jubilee of the beginning of their official diplomatic relations.
  • Since the early 1960s, when Bhutan established its Five Year Plans, India has provided economic aid to Bhutan’s socioeconomic growth.
  • The core of bilateral economic cooperation is mutually beneficial hydropower cooperation with Bhutan.
  • The Government of India has constantly supported Bhutan’s socioeconomic growth. The two countries cooperation in hydropower is an example of win-win cooperation.
  • There are active cultural interactions between India and Bhutan. Many Bhutanese pilgrims visit sacred Buddhist places in India.
  • Most Bhutanese students chose India as their preferred study-abroad destination, and the Indian government provides nearly all of them with scholarships.

India-Maldives Relations
  • India and the Maldives have ancient ethnic, linguistic, cultural, religious, and commercial ties, and their relations are close, friendly, and multifaceted.
  • In 1965, India was among the first countries to recognize and establish diplomatic relations with the Maldives following its independence.
  • In 1972, India established a CDA mission and a resident High Commissioner in 1980.
  • In November 2004, the Maldives established a full-fledged High Commission in New Delhi, one of the country’s only four diplomatic posts overseas.

Read the linked article for UPSC Exam to learn more about India-Maldives relations.

India-Myanmar Relations
  • Relations between India and Myanmar are based on common historical, ethnic, cultural, and religious links. India, the birthplace of Lord Buddha, is a pilgrimage place for Myanmar's people.
  • In 1951, India and Myanmar signed a Treaty of Friendship.
  • India and Myanmar have a 1600-kilometer-long land border and a marine border in the Bay of Bengal.
  • The physical proximity of the two nations has aided in the development and maintenance of friendly relations, as well as the facilitation of people-to-people interaction.

Read the linked article for UPSC Exam to learn more about India-Myanmar relations.

Important Points on India’s Relations with Its Neighbours
  • India is an industrialized, developing country. It has a long history of international collaboration, is a member of SAARC, BIMSTEC, and BRICS, and is an essential component of the emerging world.
  • India was a founder member of various international organisations, including the United Nations, the Asian Development Bank, the Group of 20 (G20), and the Non-Aligned Movement.
  • India has a separate ministry responsible for international relations. It’s known as the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
  • India has a land border of 15,106.7 km and a coastline of 7,516.6 km.
  • India's neighbors are Afghanistan, Pakistan, China, Bhutan, Nepal, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Maldives, and Sri Lanka.
  • However, India has a land border with seven of its nine neighbours.

Way Forward
  • India’s neighbourhood policy should be guided by the Gujral Doctrine, a set of five principles for conducting international relations with India’s closest neighbours.
  • The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) has been steadily deteriorating between 2010 and 2020, necessitating its revitalization.
  • Despite its “Neighborhood First” policy, India has to do more to build cordial and constructive relationships with all its neighbours.
  • India should focus more on regional connectivity, which needs to be pursued more actively.
  • India should manage security concerns using cost-effective, efficient, and trustworthy technology that are now in use in other areas of the world.

UPSC Previous Year Questions

Q1. ‘India is an age-old friend of Sri Lanka’. Discuss India’s role in the recent Sri Lankan crisis in light of the preceding statement. (UPSC Mains 2022, GS Paper 2).

Q2. China is using its economic relations and positive trade surplus as tools to develop potential military power status in Asia, In light of this statement, discuss its impact on India as her neighbor. (UPSC Mains 2017, GS Paper 2).

Q3. With respect to the South China Sea, maritime territorial disputes and rising tension affirm the need for safeguarding maritime security to ensure freedom of navigation and ever flight throughout the region. In this context, discuss the bilateral issues between India and China. (UPSC Mains 2014, GS Paper 2).

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India’s Relations with Its Neighbours FAQs

India and its neighbours form the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), which includes Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.

. India's neighbours include Afghanistan, Pakistan, China, Bhutan, Nepal, Myanmar, Bangladesh, the Maldives, and Sri Lanka. However, seven of India's nine neighbours share a land boundary.

Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Myanmar, Nepal, and Pakistan are India's seven neighbouring nations.

India and Afghanistan have a 106-kilometer land boundary. This is the shortest of all neighbouring nations.

Assam, Mizoram, Tripura, Meghalaya, and West Bengal are the Indian states that share the largest border with Bangladesh, which is 4,096 kilometres (2,545 miles).
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