Conceptualizing India’s response to the belt and road initiative: from norms to balancing strategies

Abstract

ABSTRACT Despite deepening economic ties between India and China, the unresolved border dispute, Sino-Pak strategic ties and India’s openness to engage with the US-led regional security structures continue to affect the bilateral relationship. The inception of China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) in 2015 generated strong protests from New Delhi citing violation of its territorial sovereignty and culminated in India’s refusal to participate in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The statements emerging from the Indian foreign office and policymakers expressed concerns about the opacity of Chinese projects, debt trap, and the sovereignty risks to smaller nations’ economies in case of their inability to repay Chinese loans. While these factors objectively sum up India’s stance on the BRI, they simultaneously speak of India’s response to the BRI on a strategic level. The article argues that India’s approach to the BRI should be examined from its Moralpolitik-driven ethical deconstruction of the project, through which it attempts to legitimize its response strategy in balance of power terms.