Evidence that importance of South Asia is growing:
- Presence of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka at the G-7 summit at Ise-Shima, Japan
- China aggressive presence in Pakistan, Bangladesh, SL, Nepal and Maldives in recent times
- CPEC
- “Dialogue Partner” status to Nepal and Sri Lanka in SCO
- Bangladesh: One of the fastest growing economy. Attracting huge investment
- Emergence of SL as a central location in Indian Ocean and consequent attention of US, China and Japan towards it
Concern for India:
- India gives more focus to Af-Pak ignoring other nations
- Historic leverage in its neighbours is quickly weakening
- India must learn to collaborate with neighbours rather than being a “lone ranger” in the region