Limitations of defence diplomacy

With its stock nowhere near what it was a year ago, New Delhi has turned to defence as a lever of foreign policy - a strategy that can at best yield limited dividends

 
It is interesting how “defence diplomacy” has taken centre stage in the pursuit of our foreign policy. In earlier years, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) hardly ever looked at military interactions as a means to further the national interest, and economic issues, trade, cultural ties, and so on were at the forefront. Now, it would appear that those diplomatic arrows in our quiver are somewhat depleted. Nothing illustrates this more clearly than recent events which have brought defence interactions into greater focus.
 
Following its spectacular electoral victory in May 2019, the new National Democratic Alliance government had