| Summary/Abstract |
China’s ‘One Belt, One Road’ (OBOR) initiative is a grand plan to connect Asia, Europe and East Africa
economically. However, from India’s point of view, China’s attempt at what it describes as geo-economic
expansion appears as a geopolitical threat because of China’s activity in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).
This essay assesses the extent to which OBOR is (i) realistic and achievable, (ii) a genuine threat to India
and (iii) amenable to possible Indian involvement. It concludes that India should continue to be wary of
its neighbour in national security terms, but has no option but to cooperate with China economically by
participating in OBOR if it seriously wishes to increase economic growth and bring the ‘Make in India’ and
Sagarmala projects to fruition. In particular, India should seriously consider allowing Chinese companies
to develop one or more Indian ports with associated infrastructure and manufacturing
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