Relevance : GS Paper II (International Relations)
[900 words reduced to 150]
- There has been a renewed geopolitical importance of the island states.
- Historically, control of critically-located islands became an important part of the rivalry between European powers.
- Today, the rise of China has pitchforked the island states back to the centre stage of major power politics.
- Contest for influence in islands
- India’s relations with the Maldives rapidly deteriorated even as China’s influence began to rise.
- The intersection of Sino-Indian rivalry with domestic politics has also come to the fore in neighboring Sri Lanka.
- The last few years have seen a spectacular rise in Chinese commercial and political presence in Papua New Guinea. China is facing competition with Australia and US here.
- Unlike the European colonial powers, today’s major powers have to deal with the more complex domestic politics of the island nations.
- The unfolding contestation for influence in the island states of the Indo-Pacific has just begun. It is unlikely to end any time soon.
