India’s Evolving Vax Diplomacy

Under the aegis of the Covid-19 pandemic, all the nations of the world were busy in shoring up their respective reserves of masks, PPE and sanitizers, which was broadly reflective of a protectionist sort of an economic outlook. Even after one year since the outbreak of the pandemic at Wuhan, a novel sort of ‘vaccine nationalism’ can be witnessed in the outlook of several developed nations, which are stockpiling vaccines with the ability to vaccinate their respective populations many times over. Such a health policy approach has thwarted the capacity of global attempts like the Gavi COVAX alliance, to supply the much needed shot of hope to developing and underdeveloped nations alike, while the WHO merely plays the role of a moral bystander.

In the course of the pandemic, India began to gradually augment its soft power capabilities by exporting hydroxychloroquine, paracetamol and other important drugs to various nations like the USA, Brazil and Israel, once thought to be the potential cure for Covid, with China not far behind under its Health Silk Road initiative. Though in the present scenario, marked by the imminent need for a much needed vaccine, India can boast of a unique advantage being the ‘pharmacy of the world’, in terms of supplying several generic drugs. Even when the pandemic was in full swing, India gave ample proof of this preponderant ethos, by calling for the dissolution of certain intellectual property rights, under the aegis of the WTO’s TRIPS accord, to readily rollout an effective vaccine, as and when it is made available along with South Africa.

India, standing at such a strategic crossroad, can rightfully employ the policy of ‘Vaccine Maitry’ or vaccine friendship, to reaffirm its sense of duty, as pertaining to its immediate neighborhood. In the recent decades, China has made some major inroads in several of India’s smaller South Asian neighbors by heavily investing in various infrastructural development projects, besides emerging as a generous contributor to these nation’s social developmental needs. But at the same time, the perceived lack of transparency surrounding the efficacy trial data of the Chinese vaccines, as developed by its various state owned and private pharmaceutical arms like Sinopharm and Sinovac respectively, has proven to be a major roadblock, for further enhancing China’s sphere of influence in South Asia.  Along with this, China has provided some subtle hints to certain nations like Bangladesh, to bear a part of the cost of its vaccine testing drive. Indian vaccines also have some unique advantages, of being cost effective, easier to store and transport, and have shown a severely reduced causal link to various incidents of AEFI, besides the ones in global circulation at present.

India also in its bid to reaffirm its commitment towards its immediate neighbors, has not lost sight of this opportunity. India’s domestic political rhetoric, of designating Bangladesh as the source of illegal immigration, has caused much harm to the bilateral relationship. With Nepal, India has been embroiled over a long standing border dispute ever since the publication of its new political map. Several nations like Myanmar, Bhutan, Maldives, Bangladesh and Nepal, have already inked a deal to get their first shots, while others like Sri Lanka and Afghanistan will get their share in a gradual manner.

India is also reaching out to the littoral states of Maldives and Mauritius, to make its presence felt, in the rapidly evolving Western Indian Ocean. While the first consignments are to be provided as part of a symbolic goodwill gesture, the follow up shipments would be commercial in nature. India has also begun to receive full-fledged contracts, from various distant nations like Brazil, South Africa, Saudi Arabia and Morocco. In its extended ASEAN backyard, Cambodia, which has been a China advocate in most of its foreign policy endeavors, has asked for an Indian shot because of the lack of transparency surrounding its partner’s vaccine rollout effort.

Pakistan maintaining its traditional antagonism, is enthused to be a part of China’s external rollout effort, which it is yet to begin with. Despite its overt partisanship in this regard, Pakistan is scheduled to indirectly benefit from the Indian vaccine regimen, as it is supposed to get those very doses indirectly through the Gavi COVAX alliance. While many in India fear that the current ruling dispensation at the centre first needs to ensure the overall availability of the shots to its immediate domestic populace, before moving to fulfil its international commitments, such a fear is largely unfounded. India’s enviable vaccine production capability, has the capacity to ensure a fierce commercial rivalry with China, unlike other areas where it is the traditional economic laggard. Besides the Covishield and Covaxin, which are a part of the immediate rollout strategy, several others like Covovax and ZyCov-D are in the offing.

However, there might be some criticism regarding the overarching claim of the present day political establishment, to label some of these vaccines as cent percent ‘made in India’. For instance, the Covaxin, which has been jointly developed by Bharat Biotech and ICMR, uses an adjuvant which is obtained from the USA.

India can use this unique opportunity, to dissipate in some measure, its traditional image of being a ‘big brother’, when it comes to its immediate sphere of influence that is South Asia. But it must be remembered, at the same time, that such a strategy may only be a part of a much larger change in India’s foreign policy outlook, pertaining to its immediate neighborhood. India bears the proud epithet of being a responsible global power, and has set previous precedents by supplying much needed medication to middle and low income countries.  It must also be remembered, that the net effect of engaging in such an overtly goodwill gesture may be transient, as was evident in the Sino-Soviet split of the 1960s, despite the USSR’s previous role, of being a major contributor behind China’s preliminary industrial development.

But China’s comparatively swift recovery from the pandemic, both demographically and economically, lends it the much needed diplomatic breather. With the news of evolving viral strains in Britain, South Africa and Brazil coming in, it might be too early to cajole at the imminent victory of such a diplomatic move. However, there can be no doubt as to the fact that this global intervention will definitely serve India dividends in the long run, as it assumes the seat of a non-permanent member in the UNSC, and is next in line to be the next chair holder at the WHO, leveraging its multilateral acceptance in the process.

Debayan Ghatak

Intern, Asia in Global Affairs

References

1. Harsh V. Pant and Aarshi Tirkey, “India’s Vaccine Diplomacy,” Observer Research Foundation, January 23, 2021, https://www.orfonline.org/research/indias-vaccine-diplomacy/
2. Sudha Ramachandran, “India’s Vaccine Diplomacy: A Potent Card?,” The Diplomat, January 26, 2021, https://thediplomat.com/2021/01/indias-vaccine-diplomacy-a-potent-card/