Last week, the United States and India concluded the fourth strategic dialogue on Asia-Pacific regional affairs, illustrating the importance that Washington places on its relationship with New Delhi. However, India should not be the sole hope on which US security strategy rests in South Asia. Nilanthi Samaranayake, Strategic Studies Analyst at CNA, explains that the United States cannot afford to ignore the need to forge deeper strategic relationships with the smaller countries in the region. Relations with Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, and Nepal hold many unexplored possibilities and reasons for expansion.

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