China versus Japan: The new Great Game in South Asia

Special to WorldTribune.com

East-Asia-Intel.com

Following in the footsteps of Japan’s triumphant South Asia initiatives under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, China feels the pressure to compete for influence and goodwill in the region as well.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi greets Chinese President Xi Jinping in New Delhi on Sept. 18.  /PTI
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi greets Chinese President Xi Jinping in New Delhi on Sept. 18. /PTI

This week, China’s Supreme Leader Xi Jinping made a swift visit to South Asia to curry favors from the governments of the Maldives, Sri Lanka, and most notably, India.

Apparently, Japan’s growing alliance with India, further strengthened after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s highly-publicized and successful visit to Japan, is beginning to unnerve China as an Indian-Japanese military and economic alliance is based to a large extent on the two countries’ shared territorial tensions with China.

In an effort to pour cold water on the new partnership, Xi had to snub his own strategic partner in the South Asian region. Thus, noticeably missing from the itinerary is China’s most trusted strategic partner Pakistan, which is also India’s archrival.

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