{"id":79791,"date":"2023-05-18T06:00:03","date_gmt":"2023-05-17T20:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?p=79791"},"modified":"2023-05-17T14:17:50","modified_gmt":"2023-05-17T04:17:50","slug":"india-and-chinas-rivalry-is-reshaping-south-asia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/india-and-chinas-rivalry-is-reshaping-south-asia\/","title":{"rendered":"India and China\u2019s rivalry is reshaping South Asia"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/figure>\n

Home to almost two billion people, some of the world\u2019s\u00a0most dynamic economies<\/a>, and important shipping routes, South Asia is a crucial geopolitical arena and the site of increasing rivalry between two of Asia\u2019s biggest powers\u2014China and India.<\/p>\n

This growing competition manifests in many areas. Despite having much in common\u2014as rising powers with\u00a0nuclear weapons<\/a>\u00a0and large populations alongside a shared ambition of\u00a0multipolarity<\/a>\u2014India and China regard each other with suspicion.<\/p>\n

This has led the two countries to try and contain the influence of the other, and to compete to expand into new areas of regional strategic interest<\/a> in South Asia and the Indian Ocean region.<\/p>\n

For China, greater influence in South Asia supports domestic and foreign policy goals, specifically protecting access to world markets via the Indian Ocean region\u2019s important global maritime routes<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Aiming to challenge India\u2019s position as the regional naval hegemon, China\u2019s People\u2019s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy has also built up presence<\/a>\u00a0in the\u00a0Indian Ocean<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, using the ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Beijing has strengthened relations<\/a>\u00a0in South Asia through infrastructure investments and greater connectivity via sea, road, and rail. This also supports China\u2019s ambition of building a\u00a0\u2018community of common security<\/a>\u2019\u00a0in the neighbourhood.<\/p>\n

Most of India\u2019s South Asian neighbours\u2014aside from Bhutan<\/a>\u2014have joined the BRI, under which Chinese investment has grown considerably through soft power<\/a> and hard power. Since 2018, China has\u00a0committed or invested<\/a> over US$150 billion\u00a0in the economies of Bangladesh, Maldives, Myanmar, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan. China is now the\u00a0largest overseas investor<\/a>\u00a0in Maldives, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.<\/p>\n

This has worried India, which fears that China may significantly impact its own sphere of influence and even\u00a0encircle<\/a> India with a \u2018String of Pearls\u2019, similar to Beijing\u2019s fears of a\u00a0\u2018Malacca Dilemma\u2019<\/a>.<\/p>\n

China\u2019s establishment of a\u00a0military base in Djibouti<\/a> and the Sri Lankan authorities allowing a\u00a0Chinese military surveillance ship<\/a>\u00a0to dock at Hambantota port have exacerbated these concerns. From India\u2019s perspective, China\u2019s growing influence in the region has placed\u00a0them in competition<\/a>, pushing it to reconsider its foreign policy and engagement in the region.<\/p>\n

It has done this by implementing a \u2018Neighbourhood First\u2019 Policy in South Asia. This policy is further supported by an \u2018Act East\u2019 Policy, under which India seeks to improve relations\u00a0with Southeast Asian countries<\/a>\u00a0and the rest of the Asia-Pacific region.<\/p>\n

Additionally, New Delhi has extended\u00a0lines of credit<\/a>\u00a0to five countries in the region\u2014Bangladesh, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, and Sri Lanka\u2014and also invested in infrastructure, especially in energy<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0connectivity<\/a>. To support these efforts, Indian conglomerates like the Adani Group have greatly increased their presence\u00a0in Asia<\/a>\u00a0aided by concessional loans<\/a> for\u00a0\u2018strategically important infrastructure projects abroad\u2019.<\/p>\n

Neither China nor India\u2019s efforts to increase their spheres of influence are without challenges. For China, the BRI has\u00a0faced significant criticism<\/a>\u00a0for its \u2018predatory\u2019 loans and for trying to legitimise<\/a>\u00a0China\u2019s authoritarian model of government and economic development.<\/p>\n

Some note that\u00a0expanding trade deficits<\/a>\u00a0in China\u2019s favour, alongside the\u00a0absence<\/a> of strong institutional mechanisms\u00a0to protect borrowers and the scale of China\u2019s lending, pose risks for countries accepting BRI investments.<\/p>\n

Still others argue<\/a> that fears of \u2018debt trap diplomacy\u2019 are exaggerated<\/a>, noting that Chinese investment nearly always faces backlash, regardless of its terms.<\/p>\n

India\u2019s foreign policies have also come under scrutiny. Along with territorial disputes and New Delhi\u2019s\u00a0inconsistent regional engagement<\/a>, there are concerns that India may co-opt regional cooperation mechanisms to try achieve<\/a> regional hegemony in South Asia.<\/p>\n

These fears are made worse by anti-India sentiment in parts of South Asia, including in\u00a0Bangladesh<\/a> and\u00a0Nepal<\/a>,\u00a0where India has been credibly accused of meddling in domestic politics. For other countries like Bhutan, close relations with New Delhi have hampered\u00a0attempts to strengthen<\/a> bilateral ties\u00a0with other countries.<\/p>\n

This Sino-Indian competition in South Asia stands against a backdrop<\/a> of systemic China-US competition. This unstable environment offers smaller South Asian countries\u2014who might be concerned about an asymmetry of power<\/a> in India\u2019s favour in their bilateral relationships\u2014opportunities to use offers from China to get a better deal with India, and vice versa.<\/p>\n

However, this risks them being drawn into regional and global geopolitical rivalries, and could lead to pressure from all sides. After all, as the example of\u00a0Nepal shows<\/a>, achieving a balancing act is difficult. As it stands, the geopolitical landscape of South Asia is being decided by this increasing rivalry, and how these smaller powers navigate it deserves closer attention.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Home to almost two billion people, some of the world\u2019s\u00a0most dynamic economies, and important shipping routes, South Asia is a crucial geopolitical arena and the site of increasing rivalry between two of Asia\u2019s biggest powers\u2014China …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1639,"featured_media":79795,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1556,52,69,129,1065,1074],"class_list":["post-79791","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","tag-bangladesh","tag-china","tag-india","tag-indian-ocean","tag-south-asia","tag-sri-lanka"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nIndia and China\u2019s rivalry is reshaping South Asia | The Strategist<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/india-and-chinas-rivalry-is-reshaping-south-asia\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"India and China\u2019s rivalry is reshaping South Asia | The Strategist\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Home to almost two billion people, some of the world\u2019s\u00a0most dynamic economies, and important shipping routes, South Asia is a crucial geopolitical arena and the site of increasing rivalry between two of Asia\u2019s biggest powers\u2014China ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/india-and-chinas-rivalry-is-reshaping-south-asia\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Strategist\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ASPI.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-05-17T20:00:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-05-17T04:17:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/GettyImages-1277538415-e1684296964833.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Genevieve Donnellon-May\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ASPI_org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ASPI_org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Genevieve Donnellon-May\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/\",\"name\":\"The Strategist\",\"description\":\"ASPI's analysis and commentary site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/india-and-chinas-rivalry-is-reshaping-south-asia\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/GettyImages-1277538415-e1684296964833.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/GettyImages-1277538415-e1684296964833.jpg\",\"width\":1600,\"height\":1200,\"caption\":\"COLOMBO, SRI LANKA - 5 APRIL 2020 : Progress of Colombo Port City at the Port of Colombo, Sri Lanka. 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