‘The China Factor In India’s Neighbourhood Is Not Widely Understood’

NEW DELHI: China’s policy towards India’s neighbours is driven by a mix of commerce and the need to limit Delhi’s expanding strategic footprint, argues Shantanu Roy-Chaudhury, author of The China Factor. An M.Phil. from Oxford, Roy-Chaudhury wrote the book based on his understanding that other than the strategic community, there was little in the public domain about China’s policies and activities in India’s immediate neighbourhood.

China has capitalised on the region’s need for good infrastructure of every kind, he writes, and India’s inability to provide that. He acknowledges that the region also saw in China the perfect balance to India’s often overwhelming presence. But the end result has also seen these countries owing China vast sums of money which they are unable to repay. So land, buildings, ports and airports have been handed over to China on prolonged lease, which has only deepened India’s insecurities and triggered push back.

Tune in for more in this conversation with Shantanu Roy-Chaudhury, author of The China Factor.