India's recent military operation, Operation Sindoor, has redefined its security doctrine while exposing complex diplomatic challenges in South Asia. Global reactions to the operation have balanced maintaining ties with India against concerns over potential wider conflict in the region. India is positioning itself as both an architect and absorber of a new diplomatic paradigm, leveraging trust, shared history, and people-to-people connections to strengthen its regional influence. The country aims to counter China's growing geopolitical and economic influence by emphasizing a regional stakeholder identity and cooperative maritime security with like-minded nations. Meanwhile, China's stance towards India remains assertive, signaling that it can manage without India, while India cannot do without China, despite Beijing's economic difficulties. Pakistan has used the regional conflicts and Operation Sindoor as an opportunity to boost its geopolitical standing, drawing renewed global attention. The evolving India-Pakistan dynamic underscores the importance of nuclear deterrence, particularly in light of China's role in modernizing Pakistan's nuclear capabilities. India's national security strategy is evolving to focus on technological warfare, strategic autonomy, and a more proactive diplomatic posture beyond its immediate neighborhood. Kashmir continues to be central to Pakistan's proxy conflict, but India is prepared to respond more forcefully to future provocations as its deterrence strategy advances. Experts also debate the possibility of India and China becoming 'frenemies,' questioning whether China's recent actions were intended to compel India to negotiate, reminiscent of the 1962 conflict.