Editor's note: Andrew Korybko is a Moscow-based American political analyst. The article reflects the author's opinion, and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

Indian Prime Minister Modi was re-elected with a landslide after the ruling Bhartiya Janata Party totally trounced the opposition Congress party at the polls, proving the incumbent's widespread popularity and the people's desire to have him lead their nation across the next five years. His second term in office will be even more important than the first because India is faced with many tough geopolitical choices that it will have to make during this time.

These all concern its policy of "multi-alignment" in one way or another, or in other words, the country's attempt to balance between great powers and preserve its strategic autonomy. That's going to be extremely difficult to do in the coming future, however, because of heavy American pressure on India.

The so-called "Indo-Pacific" concept is raising concerns all across the region after observers pointed out that it might be nothing more than a euphemism for the U.S. to "contain" China through India, especially in the geostrategic Indian Ocean region through which the majority of China's trade with the EU, the Mideast, and Africa traverses.

The U.S. and India have been military-strategic partners for the past couple of years after the 2016 signing of the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement that allows each country to use some of other's military facilities on a case-by-case "logistical" basis. This was almost immediately followed by India being designated as the U.S.' only "Major Defense Partner", which occurred in parallel with a major uptick in American arms shipments to the South Asian state.

Disturbingly, it was right around this time that India initiated the heavily publicized and very tense standoff with China over the Donglang border region in summer 2017, which was thankfully kept under control and ultimately resolved but importantly showed the world the worrying effect of American influence on India.

Furthermore, neighboring Pakistan regularly accuses India of waging a hybrid war on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) through the use of terrorist proxies such as the so-called "Balochistan Liberation Army" (BLA), a claim that India vehemently denies but which is nevertheless sincerely believed to be true by Islamabad. This is very concerning for Chinese interests because CPEC is the flagship project of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which both India and its new U.S. military-strategic partner strongly oppose.

India's official position is that CPEC passes through Pakistani-controlled disputed territory that it claims as its own through its maximalist approach to the Kashmir conflict, but the argument has been put forth by some political analysts that New Delhi is actually against the fact that this corridor also functions as a strategic shortcut for Beijing to more reliably trade with the EU, the Mideast, and Africa without having to pass through the Strait of Malacca chokepoint.

From an American standpoint, CPEC is a game-changer because it neutralizes the U.S.' anti-Chinese "containment" efforts, and given the closeness between Washington and New Delhi nowadays, it's not far-fetched to imagine that India might have an identical stance.

Far from being about its supposed sovereignty, India's opposition to CPEC therefore seems to be driven by its economic and strategic interests, which dovetail perfectly with the news that it's engaged in preliminary talks with the U.S. over a trade deal.

This is very significant because some mainstream media voices are encouraging Western companies to relocate from China to India as a result of the ongoing trade war, a process that could pick up pace if India agreed to lopsided terms for luring American businesses to the country throughout the course of its trade deal negotiations. While Prime Minister Modi understandably wants to boost his "Make in India" policy of domestic economic development, it would be an unfriendly move if he tried to do this at China's expense.

Therefore, India is faced with several very difficult choices over the next five years. It needs to decide whether it'll retain its strategic autonomy through the reinvigorated practice of "multi-alignment" or if it'll submit to American pressure by becoming the U.S.' regional proxy. Its staunch opposition to BRI (which may or may not be manifesting itself through a Hybrid War on CPEC) is very concerning; as is the possibility of it reaching a trade deal with the U.S. predicated on achieving a zero-sum economic advantages vis-a-vis China.

The Kashmir conflict with Pakistan isn't any closer to be resolved than it was over seven decades ago when it first began, and all the signs point to the U.S. and India intensifying their military-strategic partnership.

These next five years of Prime Minister Modi's second term will therefore be decisive for determining India's geostrategic course across the coming decades and will accordingly be watched very closely by all interested observers.

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