Narendra Modi is due to arrive in Mauritius on Tuesday at the start of visits to three Indian Ocean island nations, as part of a charm offensive aimed at repairing long-neglected regional alliances and grappling with China’s rising influence in India’s backyard.
The Indian prime minister’s five-day trip, which will include stops in the Seychelles and Sri Lanka this week, marks his latest attempt to craft a more muscular foreign policy since taking power last May, notably by offering greater financial and military aid to smaller neighbours.
China’s growing clout around South Asia has vexed New Delhi over recent years, with Beijing providing billions of dollars to fund prominent infrastructure projects around the region and winning plenty of political goodwill along the way.