THE DIPLOMATIC DANCE OF AVOIDANCE

N the glittering corridors of Kuala Lumpur’s convention centres, where Southeast Asia’s leaders will converge to chart a multipolar future, an empty chair will speak volumes. Prime Minister Narendra Modi—the indefatigable globetrotter who has crisscrossed continents to etch India’s imprint on the world—will address the 47th ASEAN Summit and the 22nd ASEAN-India Summit virtually.

- PRABHU CHAWLA

His conspicuous absence has fuelled fervent speculation. Is Delhi dodging a diplomatic dust-up with Donald Trump, the brash American bulldozer barreling back into Asia’s arena? From New Delhi’s vantage, this absence isn’t mere scheduling sleight-of-hand. It’s a calculated sidestep in a high-stakes tango with Washington, where economic edicts masquerade as alliances and trusted ties to Moscow are twisted into treason.

Modi’s ASEAN odyssey has been a hallmark of his hyperactive foreign policy. Since assuming office in 2014, he has attended most ASEAN-India Summits—in person or virtually—transforming a once-peripheral partnership into a powerhouse pact worth about $120-130 billion in annual trade. But the forum has also become a stage where clashing egos can turn consensus into confrontation.

Two of the world’s most influential leaders—Prime Minister Modi and President Donald Trump of the US—seem locked in a peculiar diplomatic dance of avoidance. Both command nations that claim to be the torchbearers of democracy and free enterprise, yet neither appears willing to confront the other in person. The Kuala Lumpur meeting, where Trump is expected to appear and Modi has chosen to participate only virtually, has become the latest symbol of this uneasy relationship between two statuesque but increasingly mistrustful leaders.