India Guards Against China's Encroaching Shadow

India is the dominant country in South Asia, accounting for the majority of the region's landmass (68 percent), population (75 percent) and economic output (79 percent). These disparities have informed India's status as South Asia's reigning hegemon in the decades since it gained independence from the British Empire in 1947. Today, however, India's dominance is being challenged by China. Beijing's economic expansion into South Asia under its vast Belt and Road Initiative is meeting the infrastructure demands of India's neighboring countries and providing them with access to deep pools of capital in a way that New Delhi cannot match. For emerging markets such as Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and the Maldives, Chinese-funded projects are too enticing to pass up, even if they come with steep price tags that add to the debt burdens of these developing countries. Still, the infrastructure race isn't India's only challenge: China is boosting its military responsiveness...