The South Asian subcontinent lies to the south of the Himalayas, extending into the Indian Ocean. The long coastlines with deep-water seaports are of commercial and military importance. South Asia has not been a strategic focus in terms of global power politics since the end of the Second World War. However, it is an important chain linking the two geographical points of strategic significance, namely, the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Malacca. In this context, South Asia has not been ignored by major world powers in their global and regional security strategies.

The end of the cold war has removed some ideological and geo-political factors that shaped the policies of world powers toward South Asia during the cold war. New opportunities should have emerged for maintaining political stability and promoting economic growth in this region. However, unfortunately, the black clouds of the Indo-Pakistani cold war have still been lingering on in the sky over South Asia. The people of South Asia are still living under the threats of ethnic and religious conflicts or even civil wars. They have been expecting the arrival of peace and development, but constant social turmoil and frequent government changes have dashed their hope and aspiration. While the rest of Asia has struggled to recover from the financial crisis and focused on economic development and cooperation, South Asia has witnessed the nuclear explosions, missile tests, cross-border gunfire and civil wars. Some ambitious plans of economic development and hopeful programs for regional cooperation have been aborted or halted by arms race, nuclear weaponization and war preparation in the region. This is the disappointing picture of the general situation in South Asia.

Since the end of the cold war, the United States, Russia, and China have adjusted their policies towards South Asia. Their policy adjustments have been based upon their assessments of post-cold war security situation in South Asia and their perspectives of their respective strategic interests in this region. In this paper, I intend to explain the new features of the South Asian situation since the end of the cold war and the policies of major powers toward South Asia.