ABSTRACT
It should be clear now, given developments in China internally as well as Beijing’s generally assertive behaviour externally, that its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is more than just an economic project about infrastructure development in other countries. Rather, it possesses at least some strategic foreign policy and security objectives as well. For many countries in South Asia, it is exactly the latter that opens up both attractive possibilities and larger concerns when engaging with China. This chapter seeks to use examples from the region to draw some larger patterns about how the BRI has operated. It classifies these patterns broadly into those that have to do with a lack of choice for recipient countries, the choice of a card to be used against India, economic interactions, and political involvement in these countries. The chapter then analyses the implications for South Asian regional order where India seeks to sustain its dominant position.
