Abstract
India’s approach to the Chinese One Belt One Road (OBOR), now called the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), and other connectivity-related cooperation ideas in the region are not uniform despite the economic advantages some of these projects offer. India appears to view such projects to a significant extent through the prism of geostrategic and security interests. Economic considerations appear to sometimes play a secondary role. This understanding of India’s stance on such projects explains its reluctance to be part of the BRI, but supports among others the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC), Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar Economic Corridor (BCIM), International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) and the Mekong Ganga Initiative.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
K. Yhome, “The Burma Roads: India’s Search for Connectivity Through Myanmar”, Asian Survey, 55(6), p. 1227.
- 2.
“BBINMVA”, http://www.cuts-international.org/BBINMVA/.
- 3.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s speech at the SAARC Summit in Dhaka, November 12, 2005, http://pmindia.nic.in/speech-details.php?nodeid¼215.
- 4.
K. Yhome, “The Burma Roads: India’s Search for Connectivity Through Myanmar”, Asian Survey, 55(6), p. 1227.
- 5.
K. Yhome, “The Burma Roads: India’s Search for Connectivity Through Myanmar”, Asian Survey, 55(6), p. 1222.
- 6.
Ibid.
- 7.
Speech by Dr. S. Jaishankar, “Foreign Secretary to Mark 25 Years of India-Singapore Partnership at Shangri La Hotel, Singapore”, July 11, 2017, http://mea.gov.in/Speeches-Statements.htm?dtl/28609/Speech_by_Dr_S_Jaishankar_Foreign_Secretary_to_mark_25_years_of_IndiaSingapore_Partnership_at_Shangri_La_Hotel_Singapore_July_11_2017.
- 8.
K. Yhome, “The Burma Roads: India’s Search for Connectivity Through Myanmar”, Asian Survey, 55(6), p. 1223.
- 9.
H. Srikanth, “Look East Policy, Subregional Connectivity Projects and North East India”, Economic & Political Weekly, November 19, 2016, 51(47).
- 10.
Remarks by Foreign Secretary at the release of Dr. C. Raja Mohan’s book “Modi’s World-Expanding India’s Sphere of Influence”, July 17, 2015, http://mea.gov.in/Speeches-Statements.htm?dtl/25491/Remarks+by+Foreign+Secretary+at+the+release+of+Dr+C+Raja+Mohans+book+Modis+WorldExpanding+Indias+Sphere+of+InfuencequotJuly+17+2015.
- 11.
“Speech by External Affairs Minister at the inauguration of Raisina Dialogue in New Delhi”, March 1, 2016, http://www.mea.gov.in/Speeches-Statements.htm?dtl/26432/Speech_by_External_Affairs_Minister_at_the_inauguration_of_Raisina_Dialogue_in_New_Delhi_March_01_2016.
- 12.
Narendra Modi, “Inaugural Address by Prime Minister at Second Raisina Dialogue”, New Delhi, January 17, 2017, http://mea.gov.in/Speeches-Statements.htm?dtl/27948/Inaugural_Address_by_Prime_Minister_at_Second_Raisina_Dialogue_New_Delhi_January_17_2017.
- 13.
Parthapratim Pal, “Intra-BBIN Trade: Opportunities and Challenges”, ORF Issue Brief No. 135, March 2016, https://www.orfonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/ORF-Issue-Brief_135.pdf.
- 14.
Uttara Sahasrabuddhe and Chaitanya Mallapur, “Modi’s Strategic Foreign Policy Vision: A Glass Half Full”, The Diplomat, May 17, 2017, http://thediplomat.com/2017/05/modis-strategic-foreign-policy-vision-a-glass-half-full/.
- 15.
Aparna Sharma and Chetna K. Rathore, “BIMSTEC and BCIM Initiatives and Their Importance for India”, Discussion Paper, CUTS International, http://www.cuts-citee.org/pdf/BIMSTEC_and_BCIM_Initiatives_and_their_Importance_for_India.pdf, p. 1.
- 16.
Though this state is part of the Indian Union, China claims sovereignty over a majority of the territory, calling it a part of “South Tibet” and is thus one of the territories disputed between India and China.
- 17.
K. Yhome, “BIMSTEC and India’s Shifting Diplomatic Calculus”, October 3, 2016, www.orfonline.org/expert-speaks/bimstec-india-shifting-diplomatic/.
- 18.
Naresh Bana and K. Yhome, “The Road to Mekong: The India–Myanmar–Thailand Trilateral Highway Project”, ORF Issue Brief No. 171, Observer Research Foundation, February 2017, http://cf.orfonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/ORF_Issue_Brief_171_Trilateral.pdf, p. 2.
- 19.
Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam.
- 20.
Naresh Bana, K. Yhome, “The Road to Mekong: The India–Myanmar–Thailand Trilateral Highway Project”, ORF Issue Brief No. 171, Observer Research Foundation, February 2017, http://cf.orfonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/ORF_Issue_Brief_171_Trilateral.pdf, p. 2.
- 21.
- 22.
Wang Jisi, “March West: China’s Geopolitical Strategy of Rebalancing”, Global Times, October 17, 2012.
- 23.
Shuaihua Wallace Cheng, “China’s New Silk Road: Implications for the US”, YaleGlobal, May 28, 2015, http://yaleglobal.yale.edu/content/china%E2%80%99s-new-silk-road-implications-us.
- 24.
Shuaihua Wallace Cheng, “China’s New Silk Road: Implications for the US”, YaleGlobal, May 28, 2015, http://yaleglobal.yale.edu/content/china%E2%80%99s-new-silk-road-implications-us.
- 25.
- 26.
The Economist Intelligence Unit, “Prospects and Challenges on China’s ‘One Belt, One Road’: A Risk Assessment Report”, 2015, p. 3.
- 27.
Agatha Kratz, “One Belt, One Road: What’s in It for China’s Economic Players?”, in ‘One Belt, One Road’: China’s Great Leap Outward, (European Council on Foreign Relations), p. 9.
- 28.
Prominent American scholar.
- 29.
Timothy Dunne, Milja Kurki, and Steve Smith, International Relations Theories: Discipline and Diversity, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007), p. 83.
- 30.
Antoine Bondaz, “Rebalancing China’s geopolitics”, in ‘One Belt, One Road’: China’s Great Leap Outward (European Council on Foreign Relations), p. 6.
- 31.
Richard Ghiasy and Jiayi Zhou, “The Silk Road Economic Belt”, SIPRI, 2017, p. 33.
- 32.
“Official Spokesperson’s Response to a Query on Participation of India in OBOR/BRI Forum”, May 13, 2017, http://mea.gov.in/media-briefings.htm?dtl/28463/Official+Spokespersons+response+to+a+query+on+participation+of+India+in+OBORBRI+Forum.
- 33.
Shyam Saran, “What China’s One Belt and One Road Strategy Means for India, Asia and the World”, The Wire, October 9, 2015, http://thewire.in/2015/10/09/what-chinas-one-belt-and-one-road-strategy-means-for-india-asia-and-the-world-12532/.
- 34.
Manish Tewari, “OBOR is the Grandest Failure of Indian Foreign Policy”, The Indian Express, May 17, 2017.
- 35.
Samir Saran and Ritika Passi, “Seizing the ‘One Belt, One Road’ Opportunity”, The Hindu, February 2, 2016.
- 36.
Mani Shankar Aiyer, “China’s Smug Forecast About India Proves Right”, May 17, 2017.
- 37.
Sudheendra Kulkarni, “Crucial for India to Join This China Initiative”, May 12, 2017, http://www.ndtv.com/opinion/modi-must-send-a-rep-to-attend-chinas-big-summit-1692311.
- 38.
Peter Cai, “Why India Is Wary of China’s Silk Road Initiative”, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/peter-cai/india-china-silk-road-initiative_b_11894038.html (Accessed July 3, 2017).
- 39.
Ram Madhav, “Turning down China”, The Indian Express, May 17, 2017, http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/turning-down-china-one-belt-one-road-4659155/.
- 40.
P.S. Raghavan, “The Dragon Beckons”, The Hindu, May 4, 2017.
- 41.
Ananth Krishnan, “After China’s Envoy Offered to Rename CPEC for India’s Sake, Embassy Removes Remark from Speech”, India Today, May 9, 2017, http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/chinese-embassy-deletes-cpec-reference-from-envoy-speech/1/949128.html.
- 42.
“Speech by Foreign Secretary at Raisina Dialogue in New Delhi”, March 2, 2015, http://mea.gov.in/Speeches-Statements.htm?dtl/26433/Speech_by_Foreign_Secretary_at_Raisina_Dialogue_in_New_Delhi_March_2_2015.
- 43.
“IISS Fullerton Lecture—India, the United States and China”, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=et2ihw8jHaY&feature=youtu.be&t=46m27s.
- 44.
Tanvi Madan, “What India Thinks About China’s One Belt, One Road Initiative (But Doesn’t Explicitly Say)”, March 14, 2016, https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2016/03/14/what-india-thinks-about-chinas-one-belt-one-road-initiative-but-doesnt-explicitly-say/.
- 45.
- 46.
Rohan Venkataramakrishnan, “Is OBOR About Chinese Dominance? India Wants to Convince the World It Is”, Business Standard, May 15, 2017, http://www.business-standard.com/article/international/is-india-trying-to-convince-the-world-china-s-obor-is-secretly-colonial-117051500289_1.html.
- 47.
Narendra Modi, “Inaugural Address by Prime Minister at Second Raisina Dialogue”, New Delhi, January 17, 2017, http://mea.gov.in/Speeches-Statements.htm?dtl/27948/Inaugural_Address_by_Prime_Minister_at_Second_Raisina_Dialogue_New_Delhi_January_17_2017.
- 48.
Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria (observer status), Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Oman, Syria, Tajikistan, Turkey and Ukraine.
- 49.
Wade Shepard, “Watch Out, China: India Is Building a ‘New Silk Road’ of Its Own”, www.forbes.com, June 28, 2017. Available at https://www.forbes.com/sites/wadeshepard/2017/06/28/watch-out-china-india-is-building-a-new-silk-road-of-its-own/#24053514a90e (Accessed June 30, 2017).
- 50.
Wade Shepard, “Watch Out, China: India Is Building a ‘New Silk Road’ of Its Own”, www.forbes.com, June 28, 2017. Available at https://www.forbes.com/sites/wadeshepard/2017/06/28/watch-out-china-india-is-building-a-new-silk-road-of-its-own/#24053514a90e (Accessed June 30, 2017).
- 51.
Elizabeth Roche, “India, Iran and Afghanistan Ink Trade Corridor Pact”, Livemint, May 24, 2016, http://www.livemint.com/Politics/pI08kJsLuZLNFj0H8rW04N/India-commits-huge-investment-in-Chabahar.html (Accessed August 28, 2017).
- 52.
Regine A. Spector, “The North-South Transport Corridor”, July 3, 2002, https://www.brookings.edu/articles/the-north-south-transport-corridor/ (Accessed July 3, 2017).
- 53.
Regine A. Spector, “The North-South Transport Corridor”, July 3, 2002, https://www.brookings.edu/articles/the-north-south-transport-corridor/ (Accessed July 3, 2017).
- 54.
Boris Volkhonsky, “North-South Transport Corridor Begins Functioning”, Russia & India Report, December 12, 2016, https://in.rbth.com/blogs/the_outsiders_insight/2016/12/12/long-awaited-north-south-corridor-close-to-launch_655489 (Accessed July 3, 2017).
- 55.
Boris Volkhonsky, “North-South Transport Corridor Begins Functioning”, Russia & India Report, December 12, 2016, https://in.rbth.com/blogs/the_outsiders_insight/2016/12/12/long-awaited-north-south-corridor-close-to-launch_655489 (Accessed July 3, 2017).
- 56.
Ajay Chhibber, “China’s One Belt One Road Strategy: The New Financial Institutions and India’s Options”, Institute for International Economic Policy, Working Paper, March 2017, p. 26.
- 57.
Ajay Chhibber, “China’s One Belt One Road Strategy: The New Financial Institutions and India’s Options”, Institute for International Economic Policy, Working Paper, March 2017, p. 26.
- 58.
Dipanjan Roy Chaudhury, “Pushing Back Against China’s One Belt One Road, India, Japan Build Strategic ‘Great Wall’”, Economic Times, May 16, 2017, http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/58689033.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst.
- 59.
Avinash Nair, “To counter OBOR, India and Japan propose Asia-Africa Sea Corridor”, The Indian Express, May 31, 2017, http://indianexpress.com/article/explained/to-counter-obor-india-and-japan-propose-asia-africa-sea-corridor-4681749/.
- 60.
Ministry of External Affairs, “India Joins the Ashgabat Agreement”, February 1, 2018, http://mea.gov.in/press-releases.htm?dtl/29406/India_Joins_the_Ashgabat_Agreement (Accessed April 11, 2018).
- 61.
P. Stobdan, quoted in M. Najmuz Zafar, “Ashgabat Agreement Gets Push with India Joining the Central Asian Transport Corridor”, Muscat Daily, February 24, 2018, http://www.muscatdaily.com/Archive/Oman/Ashgabat-Agreement-gets-push-with-India-joining-the-Central-Asian-transport-corridor-577m#ixzz5CuPuocdH (Accessed April 11, 2018).
- 62.
“Speech by External Affairs Minister at the inauguration of Raisina Dialogue in New Delhi”, March 1, 2016, http://www.mea.gov.in/Speeches-Statements.htm?dtl/26432/Speech_by_External_Affairs_Minister_at_the_inauguration_of_Raisina_Dialogue_in_New_Delhi_March_01_2016.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Unnikrishnan, N., Purushothaman, U. (2020). Proceed with Caution: India’s Approach to China’s One Belt One Road and Other Cooperation Ideas in the Region. In: Lukin, A. (eds) The “Roads” and “Belts” of Eurasia. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-0856-1_4
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-0856-1_4
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-15-0855-4
Online ISBN: 978-981-15-0856-1
eBook Packages: Political Science and International StudiesPolitical Science and International Studies (R0)