Narendra Modi’s overture to 14 Pacific Ocean island states on the eve of next week’s South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation summit in Kathmandu is a reminder that South Asia can’t pull up its drawbridge against the wider maritime region to which it belongs. That, in turn, suggests that some of the non-players in Kathmandu will be as important as Banquo’s ghost at Macbeth’s banquet. China, Japan, Australia and the United States of America already enjoy observer status. The oceanic emphasis also gives the Association of South-east Asian Nations a stake in Saarc’s welfare.
India remains as much the linchpin today as 29 years ago when J.R. Jayewardene’s lilting resonance surprised everyone at Saarc’s inaugural conference in Dhaka. “India, the largest in every way, larger than all the rest of us combined,” he declaimed, “can by deeds and words create the confidence among us so necessary to make a beginning.” It’s even more important now for India with its technological capability and economic resources to make a special effort to inspire the region’s confidence.