Pandemic creates India, China rivalry

THE coronavirus pandemic is creating a new arena of rivalry between India and China to win hearts and minds of South Asian countries that have long been at the centre of their competition.

For a start, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 12 pledged US$10 million to create a Covid-19 emergency fund and declared that India was forming a rapid response team of Indian doctors for South Asian countries. Mr Modi's proposal of formulating a joint strategy by the South Asian nations to fight the coronavirus was immediately supported by all the South Asian countries, except for Pakistan as Indian-Pakistani relations have been strained since independence in 1947.

Mr Modi attempted to galvanise the members of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) in an effort to frame an efficient approach to combat the pandemic. The eight members of SAARC are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.