At least in case of India, it is in their interest to lower their trade barriers against Thailand, Viet Nam, Philippines, Indonesia etc.

This region with 500 million people in it will oscillate between Chinese and Indian influence. The Chinese are more powerful and richer, so the only way in which India can compete for influence is being more friendly.

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tonyhart7 8 hours ago | parent [-]

India is too busy fighting on their own sphere of influence (south asian)

china keep them in check via pakistan

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inglor_cz 7 hours ago | parent [-]

Now, but we're talking 2040, and the situation may look a lot different.

India has been doing some incredible things lately. They just electrified their entire rail network in some five years. That is actually impressive - you need a lot of qualified people and coordination for that.

If they keep up, they will become a strategic adversary of China in Indochina (see the name?) quite soon.

	▲	eldaisfish 3 hours ago \| parent [-]
		India's rail network is not fully electrified, this is false. Even the most popular broad gauge network is not fully electrified. Diesel trains are still very common. Remember also that the Indian government is very skilled at manipulating data without actually delivering results. Just look at the lies they spewed during the pandemic about deaths. India's promised ascendance to power and influence remain perpetually a few decades away. Meanwhile, the poor continue to lose purchasing power, the rich exploit the entire country, and India's total economic exports are comparable to those of the Netherlands.