A Case for China’s Security Role in South Asia

The paper focuses on the constructive role that China can play in enhancing security in South Asia. The potential contribution that China can make to enhancing non-traditional security in the region is significant. Two areas of non-traditional security, where fruitful cooperation between China and South Asia can be intensified, will be explored in depth, namely environmental security as well as humanitarian assistance and disaster relief. China’s contribution to economic security - another important aspect of non-traditional security - in the region has been well-documented and will therefore not be the focus of the present analysis. Armed with huge foreign currency reserves and a vast engineering and manufacturing capacity, China is facilitating infrastructure development at an unprecedented scale. An opportunity for cooperation on the non-traditional security front is also presenting itself in anti-terrorism endeavour. The threat of terrorism from the Islamic State, can catalyse closer China-South Asian anti-terror cooperation. The paper proceeds in the following manner. Arguing for the importance of South Asian security from the Chinese point of view, a peaceful South Asia is placed as the backdrop of the Chinese policy framework, both international and domestic. An attempt is then made to look at the details of cooperation in non-traditional security areas, following which there is a discussion of the potential collaboration in counter-terrorism efforts.