While there is much discussion about Chinese influence in the Middle East and its relationship with Iran, about the geopolitical disputes in the Horn of Africa or the so-called new cold war between the USA and China, the name of what will soon be the most populous country on earth rarely comes up and never in the first place.
First of all, this is due to the country’s geographical location. As a subcontinent in its own right, India is in a way cut off from the major land trade routes of the Eurasian continent. Those who do not want to deliver directly to India practically never have to cross the country. Only on the Indian Ocean is the country significant, but even here the trade routes lead so far south through the sea that India’s advantage largely evaporates. The bitter rivalry with its direct neighbour Pakistan does the rest to limit the country’s strategic possibilities.
But also in economic terms, the country cannot develop the necessary strength. For decades, its growth has lagged significantly behind that of China, and in the Corona Year 2020, this difference has widened even further. The country is not one of the most popular destinations for foreign investment and the infrastructure also needs to be significantly improved. And technologically, India, for many in the West still the Asian IT country par excellence, is far removed from the US, China or Russia.
All this also leads to the crucial shortcoming of a lack of competitiveness in the military field. In particular, the fact that India’s does not have a similar vibrancy to China’s or Turkey’s is a clear indication of its inferiority, given India’s geography.
Simon Dierich 