South Asia is a region intricately woven together with a shared culture, history, people and beliefs. Very rightly, the former Bangladesh president Ziaur Rahman saw a prodigious opportunity in utilizing these similarities to achieve a consolidated, united and self-sufficient South Asia. Accordingly, in 1985 his vision for a multilateral body in South Asia was realized through the formation of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).

The new multilateral institution had  - still has - an immense potential to mitigate social and economic issues endemic to the region.  In its 36 years of existence, SAARC has had some commendable achievements in minimizing poverty, ensuring food security, bolstering energy cooperation, and above all, extending trade activities in the region.

Bedeviled by bilateral issues

But today, while generally endorsing the accomplishments of this regional body, the recurring question is about its relevance. To be fair, such apprehensions about the pertinence of this regional organization are not without valid grounds. In the last few years, the true potential of SAARC has been bedeviled time and again by bilateral issues among the member states and defective implementation policies. Many visionary projects have failed to see the light of the day or have remained in a haphazard form. 

The SAARC Satellite Project, the SAARC Development Fund, the SAARC Motor Vehicles Agreement, the SAARC Regional Railway Agreement, or the establishment of the SAARC Environment and Disaster Management Centre, are just to name a few. The much anticipated SAARC Free Trade Agreement signed in 2004 has also failed to live up to its hype. 

Many analysts think that apart from bilateral issues plaguing their implementation, the disparate availability of resources and economic prowess of the member states have served as major impediments. The smaller member countries naturally look up to India when it comes to doing the lion's share of the projects because it has the means at its disposal which most of the other members truly do not. 

The growing influence of other state actors like China in the region has also cultivated serious mistrust, mostly on the Indian side. Today, most of the SAARC member countries (except India) are in favor of welcoming China as a full member. Needless to say, China's inclusion carries the risk of completely jeopardizing India’s role as the pre-eminent regional power.

Along with patchy policies and defective implementations, bilateral issues and suspicions have paralyzed SAARC.  The last  SAARC summit was held way back in 2014, and from then on the member countries have failed to reconcile their differences and find that common ground reflecting their own interests.

Alternatives to SAARC?

India, realizing the “gradual incongruity” of SAARC, largely due to Pakistan's intrasigence, has been subtly supportive of other multilateral bodies in the region to promote its Neighborhood First policy. Accordingly, sub-regional and inter-regional bodies like BIMSTEC (The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) or the BBIN (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal Initiative) are being pitched and promoted as substitutes for "SAARC minus Pakistan".

But what India should keep in mind is that creating a void in South Asia, without the presence of a robust pan-region body, will actually be a fatal mistake on its part. As is evident, the Indian neighborhood has remained highly volatile and unpredictable. Throughout the years, it has actually been a pretty arduous job for the country, to maintain amicable relations with all its neighbors. Moreover, the sheer size and glaringly disparate competency of India when compared with her neighbors, naturally has been very intimidating for the rest. 

Since the inception of India’s aid diplomacy, particularly in South Asia and Africa, a saying has gained ground that “India promises, China delivers”. India’s promise of grants and funds, and execution of pledged developmental projects, have taken an awful amount of time to be implemented, especially in some African countries and even in the neighbourhood. Such lag in implementation has in many cases given China the ground to swoop in and fill the vacuum with its own credit lines. 

China's growing presence

China’s ever-escalating ambition to achieve the status of world power has led it to assert its presence in every strategically crucial region and employ tactics to counter regional rivals. With this precise motive, at present China is eyeing to use the frictions and strife within SAARC towards its own advantage. 

Some SAARC members take an affirmative position when it comes to giving membership to China, which was granted an observer status in 2005. Several South Asian countries have entered into elaborate trade agreements or cooperative treaties in other areas with China. Major ports in South Asia like the Gwadar port in Pakistan, the Hambantota port in Sri Lanka or the Chittagong Port in Bangladesh are all being developed by China. 

China is using its “controversial” One Belt, One Road (Belt and Road Initiative) project to make even deeper inroads into South Asia. Following the lead of Pakistan, countries like Sri Lanka and Bangladesh have aligned the BRI along with their respective development policies. During the Covid-19 pandemic, China has institutionalized the BRI project to form the “Health Silk Road” initiative to deliver vaccines and medicines to the South Asian states - a move that has put pressure on India, which has managed to only partially fulfill its commitment of delivering vaccines to the neighborhood due to its battle with a vicious second wave of the coronavirus infection.

China has also emerged as the biggest trading partner of Pakistan, Bangladesh and the Maldives in South Asia. It is slowly and steadily providing the South Asian nations an alternative to India with the vast economic and strategic prowess at its disposal.

SAARC's relevance

One cannot deny the fact that SAARC has been beneficial in bolstering and strengthening security ties, improving economic efficiency as well as in fighting certain common social and cultural issues. The annual summits have helped in cooling down bilateral flare-ups. The summit meetings have often also provided a common negotiating ground to resume and proceed with deadlocked bilateral and regional agreements.

Today, with the overarching presence of China in South Asia, if India has to hold its ground as the paramount power, it is imperative to keep the bilateral differences aside.  The stalemate between India and Pakistan needs to be properly addressed, as it is for the genuine benefit of both, vis-à-vis the South Asian region.  Also, if India succeeds in positioning itself as the sole binding factor in the region, it will definitely act as a force magnifier for India’s ambitions in the global arena.

What needs to be borne in mind by the SAARC countries is that, at the end of the day, every South Asian is tied not only by a common culture, values and genes but, most importantly, with a shared future. And nothing can be more cardinal than that.