🔆 Key Takeaways: 📍 Shangri-La Dialogue (SLD) Insights: ✅ Held in Singapore, the SLD showcased diverging Asian security perspectives, with the US reaffirming its Indo-Pacific commitments and France offering a European perspective that emphasizes strategic autonomy. ✅ China’s absence from the SLD highlighted the growing divide in US-China bilateral relations and deepening mistrust in the region. 📍 Significance of South Korea’s Presidential Election: ✅ The victory of liberal candidate Lee Jae-myung could reshape Northeast Asia’s political trajectory, offering a more balanced approach in engaging both the US and China. ✅ Lee emphasizes economic stability, regional diplomacy, and engagement with North Korea, signaling a shift from ideological confrontation to pragmatic cooperation. 📍 US-China Strategic Tensions: ✅ The article notes a structural deterioration in US-China ties, with Washington expected to continue its tough stance under Trump’s legacy and broader bipartisan consensus. ✅ Nations across Asia are increasingly caught between US-China rivalry, prompting them to seek more autonomous foreign policy choices. 📍 Europe’s Indo-Pacific Engagement: ✅ European leaders like French President Emmanuel Macron and EU’s Josep Borrell called for “strategic autonomy” and deeper security ties between Europe and Asia. ✅ Europe’s involvement is aimed at reducing dependency on US security guarantees and balancing China’s regional dominance. 📍 Rethinking India’s Asian Strategy: ✅ India’s traditional strategy—based on great-power harmony, regional stability, and non-alignment—may need revision in the face of shifting power dynamics. ✅ As major powers confront growing security and economic challenges, India must navigate rising tensions, assertive diplomacy, and recalibrate its regional partnerships. 📍 Lee Jae-myung’s Policy Orientation: ✅ Lee seeks to stabilize ties with China while maintaining security ties with the US and Japan. ✅ His administration is expected to prioritize economic interests (e.g., semiconductors, supply chains) over confrontational foreign policy. 📍 Impact on India’s Diplomacy: ✅ India must adjust its diplomatic engagements in Asia, especially with a resurgent China, evolving US posture, and growing European strategic interest in the Indo-Pacific. ✅ Enhancing regional security cooperation, economic partnerships, and strategic autonomy is critical to maintaining India’s relevance in a changing Asia. #ir #essay #mains