| Summary/Abstract |
This article argues that China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) can be understood via the lens of regional ordering, whereby China attempts to redefine the shared goals and values for the region of Eurasia and to socialise regional states into the new values in order to have their consent to its leadership. The success of this strategy would then depend, to a large extent, on how its target regional audience reacts to the order-remaking strategy and practices. Taking an ‘eye of the beholder’ perspective, this article focuses on Indian perceptions of China’s order-remaking strategy in South Asia. It posits that India uses the ‘debt trap diplomacy’ narrative to delegitimise China’s infrastructure investment activities based on state capitalism, which have been perceived as a move to upend the status quo and challenge New Delhi’s traditional leadership in the region. To counter China’s growing influence, India is networking with other like-minded countries to promote a ‘free and open Indo-Pacific’ through groupings such as the Asia-Africa Growth Corridor, the Quad, Malabar exercises, and increasing political and economic bonds with the ASEAN countries. A serious contest over order between China and India in the Indian Ocean is looming on the horizon.
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