Revisiting India’s Security Concern in the Continental Domain of South Asia Following China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)

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Author: Sajib Kumar Banik

Keywords: BRI, South Asia, Gilgit-Baltistan, Indian Ocean, Malacca Dilemma, BCIM-EC, THEC.

Journal: Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bangladesh (Hum.) - 71(1) - June 2026

Page Numbers: 109-140

Published At: June 2026

DOI: 10.64298/jasbhum.v71i.005

Abstract:

This study examines India’s security apprehensions in South Asia in the context of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a significant geostrategic and geoeconomic infrastructure endeavour designed to bolster global connectivity and reinforce China’s dominance. India, however, opposes the BRI, viewing it as a threat to its territorial sovereignty and regional influence, a stance shaped by historically fraught Sino-Indian relations, including the 1962 war, the 2020 Galwan Valley clashes, and unresolved disputes over Arunachal Pradesh and Aksai Chin. India, therefore, interprets BRI as a scheme devised by China to expand its economic and diplomatic clout over South Asia, marginalising India’s strategic interest in the region. India generally has two primary dimensions of security concern with the BRI in South Asia: maritime domain, tied to the Maritime Silk Road (MSR) through the Indian Ocean (IO), and continental domain, mainly encompassing the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the Trans Himalayan Economic Corridor (THEC), and the Bangladesh–China–India–Myanmar Economic Corridor (BCIM EC). Focusing mainly on the continental sphere, this paper assesses how these corridors pose possible strategic vulnerabilities for India. Moreover, beyond physical infrastructure, the study also highlights that recent political upheavals in Bangladesh (2024), Nepal (2025), and Myanmar’s escalating civil war have intensified China’s leverage, while simultaneously diminishing India’s traditional dominance in its neighbourhood. The findings indicate that China’s growing sway over the Himalayan and Bay of Bengal subregions heightens India’s security challenges, raises the risk of strategic encirclement, and forces New Delhi to review its blueprint for continental security.