The Sino-Indian rivalry in South Asia in the XXI century on the examples of Nepal, Sri Lanka and Maldives
Abstract
In the article the author focuses on the analysis of Sino-Indian rivalry in the three countries, seeking common points and differences in their situation. These are the inland Nepal, located between India and China; the islands of Sri Lanka, lying adjacent to the Indian subcontinent; and the Maldives, five hundred kilometer away from it. Author claims that in the 21st century there is an increase of intensity in relations between the People's Republic of China and the Republic of India in the field of competitive impacts in the analyzed countries. However, due to the significantly lower potential of India in the economic sphere and less activity in the international arena, the policy of this country in South Asia is most often reactive to China's actions. In the 21st century a significant change in the political situation in Nepal, Sri Lanka and the Maldives can be seen. India's former hegemony has been undermined by China, which has gained an advantage in all of these countries.
Key words:
India, China, South Asia, rivalry, sphere of influence
References
Aneez, S., & Miglani, S. (2017). India eyes airport in Sri Lanka, near Chinese Belt and Road outpost. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-sri-lanka-port-india/india-eyes-airport-in-sri-lanka-near-chinese-belt-and-road-outpost-idUSKBN1CI0KI (20/06/2018).
Arif, A. (2017). Sino-Nepali Military Drills 2017: Challenging Indian influence in South Asia?. Islamabad: Institute of Strategic Studies.
Baral, B. (2017). After the 'Blockade': China's Push into Nepal. The Diplomat. https://thediplomat.com/2017/ 02/after-the-blockade-chinas-push-into-nepal/ (20/06/2018).
Bhandari, A., & Jindal, C.(2017). Pakistan: A Reckless Mortgage. Gateway House. http://www.gatewayhouse.in/ chinese-investments-in-pakistan/ (20/06/2018).
Blanchfield, K. & Wezeman, P. D., & Wezeman, S. T. (2017). The state of major arms transfers in 8 graphics. Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. https://www.sipri.org/commentary/blog/2017/state-major-arms-transfers-8-graphics (20/06/2018).
Brzeziński, Z., & Scowcroft, B. (2009). Ameryka i świat. Rozmowy o globalnym przebudzeniu politycznym. Łódź: Wydawnictwo JK.
Chanana, D. (2010). India's transition to Global Donor: Limitations and prospects. Real Instituto Elcano – ARI 123/2010. http://www.realinstitutoelcano.org/wps/portal/rielcano_eng/Content?WCM_GLOBAL_CONTEXT=/ elcano/elcano_in/zonas_in/asia-pacific/ari123-2010 (20/06/2018).
Chandran, N. (2017). India and China compete for control of an almost empty Sri Lanka air port. https://www.cnbc.com/2017/12/13/india-and-china-rivals-compete-for-control-of-empty-sri-lanka-airport.html (20/06/2018).
Chinese Ambassador calls on Nepal PM. The Himalayan Times. https://thehimalayantimes.com/kathmandu/chinese-ambassador-yu-hong-calls-on-nepal-pm-pushpa-kamal-dahal/ (20/06/2018).
Furmanowicz, U. (2015). Kryzys paliwowy w Nepalu. Czas na wejście smoka?. Centrum Studiów Polska-Azja. http://www.polska-azja.pl/u-furmanowicz-kryzys-paliwowy-w-nepalu-czas-na-wejscie-smoka/ (20/06/2018).
GFP (2017). 2017 Military Strength Ranking, Global Firepower. https://www.globalfirepower.com/countries-listing.asp (20/06/2018).
Hasanat Shah, S. & Hasnat, H., & Rosefielde, S. (2017). Comparative Analysis of Chinese and Indian Soft Power Strategy: Analysis of Chinese and Indian Soft Power Strategy. Asian Politics & Policy, 9(2), 268–88.
Hładij, A. (2016). Sri Lanka kupuje pakistańskie myśliwce JF-17. http://www.defence24.pl/sri-lanka-kupuje-pakistanskie-mysliwce-jf-17 (20/06/2018).
Huggler, J. (2006). Tamil Tigers apologise for suicide bomber's murder of Rajiv Gandhi. Independent. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/tamil-tigers-apologise-for-suicide-bombers-murder-of-rajiv-gandhi-405781.html (20/06/2018).
IISS (2018). The Military Balance 2018. The International Institute for Strategic Studies.
https://www.iiss.org/en/publications/military%20balance/issues/the-military-balance-2018-545f (20/06/2018).
In South Asia, Chinese infrastructure brings debt and antagonizm. The Economist. https://www.economist.com/ news/asia/21738408-indian-hawks-see-unserviceable-chinese-loans-ploy-win-control-strategic-assets-south (20/06/2018).
Iwanek, K. (2012). Tunel przez Himalaje – Chińsko-indyjska gra o Nepal. http://www.polska-azja.pl/k-iwanek-tunel-przez-himalaje-chinsko-indyjska-gra-o-nepal/ (20/06/2018).
Kaplan, R. (2013). Monsun. Ocean Indyjski i przyszłość amerykańskiej dominacji. Wołowiec: Wydawnictwo Czarne.
Kapuściński, R. (2007). Rwący nurt historii. Kraków: Wydawnictwo Znak.
Krishnan, M. (2018). India 'disturbed' by Maldives' political crisis. http://www.dw.com/en/india-disturbed-by-maldives-political-crisis/a-42470247 (20/06/2018).
Lim, D. J., & Mukherjee, R. (2017). Does Debt Pay? China and the Politics of Investment in Sri Lanka. The Diplomat. https://thediplomat.com/2018/01/does-debt-pay-china-and-the-politics-of-investment-in-sri-lanka/ (20/06/2018).
Maldives airport to be expanded with controversial $800m China contract. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/apr/08/maldives-airport-expanded-800m-china-contract (20/06/2018).
Malik, J.M. (2001). South Asia in China’s Foreign Relations. Pacifica Review, 13(1), 73–90.
Malone, D. M. (2011). Does the Elephant Dance. Contemporary India Foreign Policy. New York: Oxford University Press.
Mandhana, N. (2018). Trouble in Paradise: China-India Rivalry Plays Out in Maldives. The World Street Journal https://www.wsj.com/articles/trouble-in-paradise-china-india-rivalry-plays-out-in-maldives-1520332203?mod=e2fb (20/06/2018).
Muni, S. D. (2017): Modi's 'Neighbourhood First' Initiative. In: S. Sinderpal (ed.), Modi And The World: (Re)Constructing Indian Foreign Policy (pp. 117–38). Singapore: World Scientific.
Nepal accesses internet through China, ending India monopoly. http://business.financialpost.com/pmn/business-pmn/nepal-accesses-internet-through-china-ending-india-monopoly (20/06/2018).
Oleszko-Pyka, B. (2018). Stan wyjątkowy na Malediwach czyli wielka polityka Indii, Chin oraz USA. Puls Azji. http://pulsazji.pl/2018/03/05/stan-wyjatkowy-malediwach-czyli-wielka-polityka-indii-chin-oraz-usa/ (20/06/2018).
Panda, A. (2016). Revealed: Why Sri Lanka Backed Off the Sino-Pakistani JF-17 Thunder. The Diplomat. https://thediplomat.com/2016/01/revealed-why-sri-lanka-backed-off-the-sino-pakistani-jf-17-thunder/ (20/06/2018).
Paudyal, M. (2017). Love, sympathy, support, indifference, silence: How Nepal is responding to the Darjeeling unrest. https://scroll.in/article/842380/love-sympathy-support-indifference-silence-how-nepal-is-responding-to-the-darjeeling-unrest (20/06/2018).
Ping, J.H. (2013). China's Relations with India's Neighbours: From Threat Avoidance to Alternative Development Opportunity. Asian Journal of Political Science, 21(1), 21–40.
Prasad Routray, B. (2011). India-Myanmar Relations: Triumph of Pragmatism. Jindal Journal of International Affairs, 1, 301–21.
Rybczyńska, M. (2016). Nepal: „Żaden nepalski teren nie zostanie użyty do działań przeciwko sąsiadom”. Centrum Studiów Polska-Azja. http://www.polska-azja.pl/nepal-zaden-nepalski-teren-nie-zostanie-uzyty-do-dzialan-przeciwko-sasiadom/ (20/06/2018).
Smolar, A. (2011). Wiek niepewności: Europa i ład światowy. Gazeta Wyborcza, 19-20.02.
Sri Lanka formally hands over Hambantota port on 99-year lease to China. The Hindu. http://www.thehindu.com/ news/ international/sri-lanka-formally-hands-over-hambantota-port-on-99-year-lease-to-china/article21380382.ece (20/06/2018).
Stacey, K. (2017). China signs 99-year lease on Sri Lanka’s Hambantota port. Financial Times. https://www.ft.com/content/e150ef0c-de37-11e7-a8a4-0a1e63a52f9c (20/06/2018).
‘Saudi Arabia intends to secure oil routes to China through Maldives'. http://www.vnews.mv/79368 (20/06/2018).
Swarajya (2018). China Looking To Set Up Ocean Observatory In Maldives, Not Far From India’s Lakshadweep Islands. https://swarajyamag.com/insta/china-looking-to-set-up-ocean-observatory-in-maldives-not-far-from-indias-lakshadweep-islands (20/06/2018).
Tarabay, J. (2018). With Sri Lankan port acquisition, China adds another 'pearl' to its 'string'. CNN. https://edition.cnn.com/2018/02/03/asia/china-sri-lanka-string-of-pearls-intl/index.html (20/06/2018).
Tharoor, S. (2015). Understanding Nepal’s constitutional crisis.
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2015/02/understanding-nepals-constitutional-crisis/ (20/06/2018).
Veloor, R. (2010). "A man who loves his country" - complete exclusive interview with President Mahinda Rajapaksa.http://archive1.english.news.lk/category-table/14314-qa-man-who-loves-his-countryq.html (20/06/2018).
Zajączkowski, J. (2009). Regionalny system bezpieczeństwa w regionie Azji Południowej. In: T. Kapuśniak, W. Lizak, & P. Olszewski (eds.) Bezpieczeństwo międzynarodowe. Wyzwania i zagrożenia XXI w. (pp. 247–64). Radom: Wyższa Szkoła Handlowa.
University of Silesia in Katowice
The Copyright Owners of the submitted texts grant the Reader the right to use the pdf documents under the provisions of the Creative Commons 4.0 International License: Attribution-Share-Alike (CC BY-SA). The user can copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format and remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose.
1. License
The University of Silesia Press provides immediate open access to journal’s content under the Creative Commons BY-SA 4.0 license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Authors who publish with this journal retain all copyrights and agree to the terms of the above-mentioned CC BY-SA 4.0 license.
2. Author’s Warranties
The author warrants that the article is original, written by stated author/s, has not been published before, contains no unlawful statements, does not infringe the rights of others, is subject to copyright that is vested exclusively in the author and free of any third party rights, and that any necessary written permissions to quote from other sources have been obtained by the author/s.
If the article contains illustrative material (drawings, photos, graphs, maps), the author declares that the said works are of his authorship, they do not infringe the rights of the third party (including personal rights, i.a. the authorization to reproduce physical likeness) and the author holds exclusive proprietary copyrights. The author publishes the above works as part of the article under the licence "Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International".
ATTENTION! When the legal situation of the illustrative material has not been determined and the necessary consent has not been granted by the proprietary copyrights holders, the submitted material will not be accepted for editorial process. At the same time the author takes full responsibility for providing false data (this also regards covering the costs incurred by the University of Silesia Press and financial claims of the third party).
3. User Rights
Under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license, the users are free to share (copy, distribute and transmit the contribution) and adapt (remix, transform, and build upon the material) the article for any purpose, provided they attribute the contribution in the manner specified by the author or licensor.
4. Co-Authorship
If the article was prepared jointly with other authors, the signatory of this form warrants that he/she has been authorized by all co-authors to sign this agreement on their behalf, and agrees to inform his/her co-authors of the terms of this agreement.
I hereby declare that in the event of withdrawal of the text from the publishing process or submitting it to another publisher without agreement from the editorial office, I agree to cover all costs incurred by the University of Silesia in connection with my application.
