Nepal

Maldives

arrest warrant against ousted president Mohammed Nasheed

re-emergence of Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda'

NEW DELHI: Some adroit diplomacy and China's penchant on betting on the top man in countries it looks to influence has helped India regain lost ground in its neighbourhood with the wheel turning in, Sri Lanka and theThe decision of the Maldives government to issue ansignals the concern in the camp of incumbent Abdullah Yameen over Nasheed's recent return to the region. The sudden ouster of Nasheed in 2012 pushed India on the back foot and gave China an opening in the Indian Ocean archipelago.Some of Nasheed's hasty actions had helped bring about his downfall and arrest, ironically enough, on graft charges. But his travel to the UK for medical treatment and grant of asylum there set the stage for new political moves as he flew to Sri Lanka recently. Nasheed's moves are quietly backed by India and pressure is mounting on Yameen.India is keen that elections allow Nasheed an opportunity to challenge rivals who have, in a bid to shore up their influence and keep India at bay, cozied up to China with President Xi Jinping visiting Male in 2014. Since then, the Modi government sought to retrieve ground with a defence cooperation pact earlier this year but Nasheed's return to the ring really challenges China's plans in the archipelago, which straddles important shipping lanes.Apart from some behind-the-scene moves, India has been helped by China's strategy of relying heavily on the head of a country to conduct its business, a failing that has hurt its interests in Nepal and Lanka.The over-reliance on K P Oli in Nepal saw China being discomfited when he stepped down after misreading the balance of power in the Nepalese parliament and his anti-India card finally came unstuck. Oli's nine months in office were marked by his attempt to turn Madhesi protests against provisions of the new constitution into political gains by blaming India for a "blockade", a pressure tactic Delhi saw though. The, this time more amenable to working with India, can check China's progress.Under then president Mahinda Rajapaksa, Sri Lanka slipped into the Chinese orbit but he became vulnerable to claims that deals with Beijing were tinged with graft. PM Narendra Modi's visit to Lanka astutely reached out to Buddhist opinion while he also took care to visit Jaffna.