Fighting COVID-19 as region - India's Health Diplomacy in South Asia

Abstract

South Asia is witnessing an unprecedented response to the recent worldwide crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. India's shared border with China was expected to be threatened by this pandemic much more than what has is being witnessed today. Surprisingly, Europe seems to be suffering much more than the South Asian countries. The general discourse in geopolitics regarding China's presence in the region called 'encirclement strategy' seems to have made a lesser impact on the countries in South Asia though there seems to be the considerable presence of Chinese nationals in the region. The economic dependency or interdependency China has had so far has not made an impact in containing the pandemic in South Asia except for the unverified claims by Pakistan. As Giuliani stated, India has emerged as a leader which has taken the responsibility to lead the South Asian region from the front using India’s capacity and capability in the medical field and public health.