Abstract
A sense of aloofness and wariness, perhaps even deflection, initially characterized India’s official response to China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). But as BRI has progressed to the point where New Delhi can no longer afford to ignore it, public comments have underscored several reservations and contentions. The first such pronouncement was made by the Indian foreign secretary Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in 2015 […].
The unilateral ideation and announcement of BRI, as well as Beijing’s subsequent bilateral follow-up with regional states, reinforced suspicions of China’s geopolitical designs. Indian critics fear that China may use its economic power to increase its geopolitical leverage, and in doing so intensify existing security concerns for India.
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