The new great game as it unfolds:
Southern Asia is all set to witness the unfolding of several new geopolitical gambits. The U.S.
appears to have found a new strategic balance in the region; China is pushing its way through the
great American wall in Southern Asia; the ‘cold war’ between Kabul and Rawalpindi seems to
be getting frostier by the day; Pakistan is focused on several strategic moves; and New Delhi is
looking to navigate various regional dilemmas and strategic indeterminacies. The stage is set for
a new great game.
The flurry of American activities, including the recently concluded visit by Secretary of State
Rex Tillerson, indicates Washington’s last-ditch attempt to regain control, and pre-eminence,
over a region which is being pulled in conflicting directions, much to the discomfort of the U.S.
administration. In doing so, Washington views New Delhi as the centerpiece of its regional grand
strategy. New Delhi would do well to carefully, and constantly (re)consider its options vis-à-vis
the U.S. grand strategy in Southern Asia.
