| Pub. Date | : Oct, 2019 |
|---|---|
| Product Name | : The IUP Journal of International Relations |
| Product Type | : Article |
| Product Code | : IJIR51910 |
| Author Name | : Ramakrushna Pradhan |
| Availability | : YES |
| Subject/Domain | : Management |
| Download Format | : PDF Format |
| No. of Pages | : 10 |
Although it was widely accepted that the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), like the ancient Silk Road, would revive the trade corridors from China linking Europe, Africa and Asia through regional energy markets, trade and transport hubs connecting business and people, thereby turning the entire region into an economic hub and evidently enhancing China’s sphere of influence across the three continents, its strategic design of encircling India both through the BRI and String of Pearls has largely been ignored. This paper, in this context, argues that the One Belt One Road (OBOR) of China is an evolving international framework to develop a regional bulwark to consolidate its land and maritime position in Asia, thereby virtually reducing India to a non-power. The paper adopts the realist perspective of international relations theory to understand China’s hidden agenda behind OBOR and to examine India’s apprehension and urges New Delhi to formulate strategies to respond to the rise of China in Asian geopolitics.
One Belt One Road (OBOR), also known as Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), is arguably one of the monumental development projects in modern history. This most ambitious economic and strategic project, announced at the end of 2013, is very close to Xi Jinping’s heart. In May 2017, Beijing had hosted countries across the world to showcase the Chinese vision of Belt and Road, which is also called the New Silk Road project.1 BRI is an attempt to revive the historical Eurasian Silk Road that is approximately 2,000 years old the intention to reconnect Europe with Asia and Africa using modern transportation, in order to boost trade, investments, and economic development, as well as to improve diplomatic relations, scientific progress and cultural exchange for all countries and regions across the Eurasian continent.