Introduction to the Special Issue -- China's Engagement with South Asia and Responses from the Region

Introduction to the Special Issue -- China's Engagement with South Asia and Responses from the Region

Until recently, China's engagement with South Asia had been primarily limited to India and Pakistan, and much of it related to defense and security a spheres. That is changing fundamentally, and today China has emerged as a key factor not just in the geopolitics of South Asia but in geoeconomics as well. Even as China's relations with India, the largest and most prominent country, will be at the heart of its engagement with South Asia, the China-India relationship is expanding and maturing, although signs of strain and tension remain. China's rising presence in the Indian Ocean is a new element that is injecting a sense of growing unease in India. While the other South Asian countries seek Chinese investment especially in infrastructure building, most Indians see it as an attempt to encircle India and to undermine Indian interests. With the enunciation of the Maritime Silk Road Initiative, Beijing will likely scale up its investments across the entire Indian Ocean Rim region. Since nearly three-fourths of China's trade have to pass through the Indian Ocean, it is assumed that China is most likely to find ways to forwardly deploy its navy one way or another, although it will have limitations such as India's geostrategic location dominating the Indian Ocean and possessing the largest navy in the region.