Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts with the label Source- The First Post

Modi's overseas ambitions: Vietnam and the reverse “string-of-pearls” to contain China (Source- The First Post, Author- Rajeev Srinivasan)

Image credits- Flickr/ MEA Official Source- First Post Author- Rajeev Srinivasan Events in the recent past have made it clear that the Narendra Modi government is serious about India’s military and geopolitical ambitions. It is a truism that a blue-water navy that can project power over long distances is a necessity for any major power, especially one with global ambitions. Equally, it is clear that any power worth its salt has to deter other powers from doing things that would hurt its geopolitically. In this context, Vietnam becomes significant for India for several reasons. It is clear that India’s most important enemy is China, which has embarked on a ‘string-of-pearls’ strategy to surround and contain India in a “South-Asia” ghetto of sorts (incidentally, the Chinese have been the most enthusiastic propagators of that meaningless term in an attempt to dilute India’s fairly good and historical brand, while they aggressively push the ‘Greater China’ brand, notably