The Chinese investments have proved to be attractive for the smaller neighbours of India and this is proving to be a tough challenge for New Delhi to mitigate.
Author
Gunjan Singh, Assistant Professor, Jindal Global Law School, O.P. Jindal Global University, Sonipat, Haryana, India.
Summary
The growing Chinese inroads in South Asia have pushed India’s relations with its neighbours to new lows. South Asia has regained new focus and attention under Xi Jinping and his Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
China has been keen to improve and upgrade its relations with all of India’s neighbours and this has continued to test India’s diplomatic acumen and adaptability. This has also raised new challenges to the idea of Indian centrality and South Asia being its natural sphere of influence.
To begin with, the history of China’s relations with Pakistan is well known. Islamabad continues to be strongly aligned with Beijing while testing New Delhi’s security and diplomatic maturity.
However, a new challenge comes from the Maldives. Since the presidential election of Mohamed Muizzu under the major campaign slogan of “India Out,” the relationship has continued to worsen.
Published in: The Quint
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