Transforming International Power Structure: A Reciprocal Analysis Of China’s Peripheral Diplomacy And South Asian Security Dilemma

Abstract

The rise of China is the most contentious debate of the current century. Beijing has become more audacious in global politics. President Xi introduced a new diplomacy of periphery according to which restoration and sustentation of peace in China’s neighbourhood is conducive to peaceful rise of China. South Asia is the vital periphery of China and the most militarized zone on the earth where Kashmir issue is the flashpoint of nuclear escalation. It is the most decisive region in Chinese [1]periphery in which ‘terror-stricken’ Pakistan and ‘assertive’ India are competing over arm race. China’s interests in South Asian periphery are broad. This paper critically analyses the China’s peripheral diplomacy and South Asian security dilemma simultaneously. This paper argues that South Asian security dilemma is the rate determining factor of China’s growth. Moreover, ongoing Sino-US competition hinders the peripheral diplomacy to effectively overcome the issue of India Pakistan distrust and Afghan conundrum.Despite all soft ambitions, China’s peripheral diplomacy is severely contingent uponthe Indo-Pak security dilemma which can exacerbate the security dynamic of China at any stage. This work is divided into three main sections. First section discusses the peripheral diplomacy of China and the proportion of South Asia in that diplomacy. Second section critiques the involvement of China in South Asia. Third section is devoted to a rigorous analytical discussion on the prospects of China’s peripheral diplomacy in South Asia.