03-03 South Asia

“India and Pakistan” is geography that I can understand when people use the term “South Asia”. And we should all pay attention if China has geopolitical interests in this part of the world, because both India and Pakistan are nuclear powers, and bitter political rivals.
But this region also includes Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, the Maldives, Sri Lanka and Nepal. The Maldives are a chain of islands southwest of India and Sri Lanka. Some strategists include Myanmar (formerly Burma) in the geography of South China.
There is an obvious rivalry in this part of the world between the leadership of China and India despite the friendly photo.
The US considers India a geopolitical partner in South Asia because they are both democracies. But China is paying its own game by building a strategic relationship with Pakistan.
In Pakistan, China has financed four railways, three roads, a canal, business schools and a university.
But, that is just the beginning of China’s investments in South Asia. They are major players in Nepal, the home of Mount Everest. The railway not only brings Chinese goods into Nepal but provides ocean access for landlocked Nepal, via Tianjin.
And Tianjin, which I remember from our tour of China in 1985, is a major high population northeastern coastal city.
And something else I remembered from our China tour, and that was our guide explaining how all Chinese students are required to read the famous treatise on war written by Sun Tzu, called The Art of War.
One of Sun Tzu’s propositions was the importance of keeping a low profile while you build your strength. This seems to be the Chinese strategy in replacing India and the US as dominant players in South China.
China even has free trade agreements in place with both Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Why would China even bother if they did not have a geopolitical strategy in place to replace the leadership role of India in South China.
The more frightening issue for all of us in the west who are observers of the rising power of China, is the capability of western democracies like the US and India to compete with strategically focused authoritarian states like China.
The goal of China is clear. Replace the US as the worlds leading economic, military, technological and diplomatic power. But do it quietly, one region at a time.