Modi attends Central Asia meeting, forced to detour through China due to his special plane having to fly an extra 3,000 kilometers to reach the summit. Recently, Indian Prime Minister Modi visited Central Asia to attend the SCO Summit and conduct a state visit to Uzbekistan, seemingly achieving significant results. However, an unavoidable long detour during his flight has fully exposed India’s geographical weaknesses in its Central Asia strategy.

Due to persistently tense India-Pakistan relations, Pakistan has continuously closed its entire airspace to India since April 2025, completely blocking the shortest air route from India to Central Asia. Previously, a direct flight from New Delhi to Tashkent, Uzbekistan, required only crossing Pakistani-administered Kashmir and Afghan airspace, covering the journey in just three hours.

The alternative Persian Gulf and Iran routes have also become highly unsafe due to escalating U.S.-Iran tensions and frequent regional conflicts, rendering them impassable. Under these multiple constraints, India had no choice but to rely on Chinese airspace for its detour.

This time, PM Modi’s special aircraft did not take the most direct northern route. Instead, it flew eastward from New Delhi, entered Chinese airspace via Myanmar, then turned northwest—resulting in an eight-hour journey that added over 3,000 kilometers to the flight distance, effectively doubling the original route.

In fact, airspace closure is merely a symptom of India’s broader predicament. Currently, all land and sea routes between India and Pakistan are completely blocked, rendering India’s traditional, convenient transportation corridor to Central Asia entirely paralyzed. India’s much-anticipated Chabahar Port route in Iran now faces multiple deadlocks: prolonged U.S.-Iran confrontation, destruction of key Iranian cross-border railway infrastructure by airstrikes with a lengthy repair timeline; combined with India’s pro-Israel stance in the Middle East conflict, which has sparked domestic discontent in Iran, greatly increasing uncertainty in Indo-Iran cross-border cooperation.

Meanwhile, relying on China to build transport corridors is also impractical. The only Sino-Indian border crossing, Nathu La Pass, is open for only half the year, and high-altitude transportation comes with exorbitant costs and low efficiency. Moreover, ongoing border disputes between China and India make it impossible for India to depend on this route to establish a stable transit line. As for alternative routes through the Black Sea, Caucasus, or Turkey, their efficiency falls far short of the original plan.

This seemingly dignified trip to Central Asia actually reveals India’s geopolitical dilemma. Ambitious plans for Central Asia are constrained by regional power struggles, unable to even overcome basic connectivity challenges. Ultimately, India’s grand regional strategy finds itself stuck at every step.

Original source: toutiao.com/article/1875092685202435/

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author.