China's Geopolitical Advancement in South Asia and the Indian Response

Abstract

In light of its expansive Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), China has recently shown a greater interest in the countries of South Asia. China has also undertaken various projects in the region, including the China and Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and control over seaports. This has jeopardised India's geopolitical and security interests and challenged its long-standing dominance over the subcontinent. The debt trap diplomacy of China has dragged Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and other South Asian Countries into massive debt crises. The Buddhist diplomacy along the Himalayan frontiers, including Nepal, Bhutan, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, and a few parts of Himachal Pradesh, has triggered a geopolitical falling and security threat to India and other South Asian countries. Consequently, South Asia has turned more vulnerable to power politics among the different regional and non-territorial actors. China’s expansionist policies around the Himalayas, comprising of different border scuffles and deadlocks, have put more pressure on India, to which the latter has responded appropriately. The current paper investigates how China’s presence in South Asia is becoming a geopolitical challenge and security issue to India, how an extra-regional actor has been impacting the power equations in South Asia, and India has recently registered its response to these developments.