Kathmandu. The India-China border dispute has been going on for eight months with no backing out from either side. Recently, India, which has had strained relationships with other South Asian nations except Bhutan, has been found making efforts to patch up the past differences and continuously trying to win over its neighbors with its latest diplomatic tactic.

India’s minister of External Affairs S. Jaishankar has been visiting the South Asian neighborhood which includes Seychelles, Nepal, Sri Lanka and is in talks with Afghanistan and Maldives. A meeting with Bangladesh is also scheduled for next month, Pakistan being left out for being the arch rival.

Sameer Patil, a fellow from Mumbai based think tank says, “If China comes up in these meetings, as it always does, India can point to its own experience with China and convince the neighbors that they would never see such belligerence from India. This is the contrast India wants to paint.”

Indian Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringhala on his visit last week to Nepal discussed on the border issues and reviewed the trade and connectivity aspects. Immediately after his visit, Nepal hosted the defense minister of China, Wei Fenghe.

India has promised that Nepal will be in its priority country for the COVID-19 vaccine, giving word to Maldives upon the same. India, Sri Lanka and Maldives also have joined hands for maritime and security issues, after which India announced a massive US$ 80 million project named ‘High Impact Community Development’ in Afghanistan.

India’s relations with Bangladesh has worn after they announced citizenship laws which discriminated with Muslims and Non-Muslims, that caused Modi to call off his March visit to Bangladesh. China has lured the South Asian neighborhood with deals and investments in infrastructure and development, to which India cannot compete.

However, for India to make an influence, it can seek the support of the United States. The incoming administration in United States will only back India if India remains assertive and maintains its role for security in the region, according to a researcher at the Center of South Asian Studies.