India-Pakistan: Emerging Trends in Strategic Dynamics

Abstract

Since the partition of British India, the dynamics of South Asia has been based on divergent threat perceptions between India and Pakistan, which has further undermined their bilateral relations due to increased mistrust, economic, military, and diplomatic asymmetries. In spite of India's rise, it is still entangled with multiple disputes with its nuclear peers, including Pakistan and China. Particularly, it has complicated India-Pakistan bilateral relationship, created a `stability-instability paradox,' and consequently widened the expanse of military asymmetry, which is motivating them to crafting of more offensive conventional and nuclear posturing. This mutual animosity has generated a `fear of each other' that had clouded their mutual perceptions, and impacted their behavior. In essence, it has locked them into a perpetual cycle of `security dilemma.' On the other hand, notwithstanding Pakistan's internal security issues, its geostrategic position would continue to endow it to play a pivotal role together with the regional, Western and Far Eastern countries, including the United State (U.S.) and China. Pakistan is a tough and resilient country that possesses sufficient conventional and nuclear forces to make it impregnable for its rivals to surmount. The 21st century is expected to witness an intensification of rivalry between U.S. and China in the Asia-Pacific, and simultaneously flanked by China, India and U.S. in the Indian Ocean. In the context of foreign policy, Pakistan instead of bandwagoning would be better off to balance it in conformity with the changing dynamics of globalized world.