Congress' Manish Tewari calls for "realty check" of India's influence in South Asia

New Delhi [India], January 8 : Congress leader Manish Tewari sounded an alarm over the growing influence of China in South Asia, juxtaposing it with concerns about India's current standing in the region.
Tewari asserted that the Maldives is now in the Chinese sphere of influence and Sri Lanka is bending to the "Chinese wind."
"Maldives is now in the Chinese sphere of influence. Sri Lanka has bent to the Chinese wind," Tewari's post read.
The Congress leader, in his social media post, also highlighted reports of territorial concerns in Bhutan, heightened influence in Nepal, and longstanding ties with the military junta in Myanmar, which underline China's strategic expansion in South Asia.
"China is gobbling up territory in Bhutan," Tewari said in his social media post.
Notably, China, despite its promises of attempting to settle border disputes with Bhutan, has been infesting settlements of villages across the disputed regions.
"China has accumulated disproportionate influence over the polity in Nepal," his post added.
The relations between China and Nepal have, of late, become a saga of an exchange of words where one side claims that a specific project is under the BRI while the other side says it is not.
"The Military Junta in Myanmar for decades has been beholden to the Communist Party of China (CPC)," Congress leader Tewari said in the same post on X.
Labelling Pakistan as a "client state of China," Tewari drew attention to the deepening economic and strategic ties between the two nations.
Tewari also pointed out China's proximate ties with the Taliban regime in Afghanistan and its ascendant economic influence in Bangladesh.
Tewari's remarks came as India-Maldives have locked horns following a row over derogatory social media remarks by some ministers in the Maldives on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent visit to Lakshadweep.
A massive row was triggered last week as Maldives deputy minister, along with other cabinet members and government officials, made disparaging and unsavoury references to PM Modi's Lakshadweep visit.
On January 2, PM Modi visited the Union Territory of Lakshadweep and shared several pictures, including an 'exhilarating experience' of him trying his hand at snorkelling.
In a series of posts on X, PM Modi shared pictures of the white beaches, the pristine blue skies and the ocean and tagged them with a message that read, "For those who wish to embrace the adventurer in them, Lakshadweep has to be on your list."
In a post that has now been deleted, the Maldivian Deputy Minister of Youth Empowerment, Shiuna, made a mocking and disrespectful reference to PM Modi.
The Maldives government has distanced itself from the remarks made by its ministers. Maldivian Minister of Foreign Affairs Moosa Zameer said that these remarks against foreign leaders are "unacceptable" and do not reflect the official position of the Maldives government.
He stated that the Maldives remains committed to fostering a "positive and constructive dialogue" with all its partners, particularly its neighbours.
It is notable that the neighbouring country's newly-elected President, Mohamed Muizzu, departing from the convention, picked China and not India for his first state visit.
The Maldivian President's Office confirmed the visit through an official release on Thursday.
The Maldives President and First Lady Sajidha Mohamed proceeded on a state visit to China on Sunday night. During Muizzu's visit, the Maldives and China will hold official talks and sign key agreements to enhance trade, professional development, and socio-economic cooperation. Mohamed Muizzu's visit to China comes at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping.
While he has not yet visited India, President Muizzu did have a meeting with PM Modi during the COP28 climate summit in Dubai in early December.