Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/india-seeks-co-existence-in-troubled-region Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Transcript The Indian government says it wants harmonious relations with neighboring countries but concerns about security are forcing it to build up its Navy fleet. NewsHour special correspondent Simon Marks reports on India's foreign policy challenges and military efforts. Read the Full Transcript Notice: Transcripts are machine and human generated and lightly edited for accuracy. They may contain errors. JUDY WOODRUFF: Next tonight, the final report in our four-part series on India, an emerging superpower in a rough neighborhood.Special correspondent Simon Marks has the story.SIMON MARKS, NewsHour special correspondent: You are listening to the official soundtrack of India's foreign policy, relaxing, therapeutic music recorded for the Indian government on four CDs. They're given to people who visit the imposing foreign ministry building in New Delhi; it was built by the British back in 1913.We were handed our copies by Anand Sharma, the country's minister of state for external affairs. India's foreign policy, he says, is just like the music: smooth and easy.ANAND SHARMA, minister of State for External Affairs, India: We believe in creating a better understanding so that we can co-exist in harmony. We want this region to be a region of stability, peace and progress. That's what India's endeavor throughout has been. SIMON MARKS: But India faces enormous difficulties achieving foreign policy harmony, at a time when the country is increasingly allying itself with the United States, competing regionally with China, and acquiring some of the trappings of great-power status.A glance at a map of the region shows the challenges. To the south, there are tensions in India's relationship with Sri Lanka over that country's handling of an uprising by Tamil separatists.To the east, there are border security issues with Bangladesh.To the north, Nepal is an ongoing inspiration for Maoist insurgents waging a violent campaign against India's economic development.China and India, the world's two most populous nations, both rapidly developing, are in an open competition for power and influence.And then there are the greatest sources of local instability: Afghanistan, where the struggle continues against Islamic extremism; and Pakistan, like India, armed with nuclear weapons. The two countries have already fought three wars and remain toe to toe in the disputed territory of Kashmir. ANAND SHARMA: Historically, we have had problems in finding a harmonious environment in our neighborhood. Now, it's not a situation of our creation; no country chooses its geographical neighbor. We also do not.