NEW DELHI: Strategic competition in India’s neighbourhood is intensifying as China expands its footprint across South Asia and the Indian Ocean, reshaping regional dynamics through infrastructure investments, political influence and technology partnerships alongside military power, Chief of Integrated Defence Staff (CISC) Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit said on Wednesday.
“China views India not as a partner but as a potential threat, a reality we can no longer afford to look away from,” the CISC said while addressing a seminar on “Changing Dynamics in India’s Neighbourhood” in Delhi.
“We share borders with two nuclear-armed adversaries, China and Pakistan…the Indian Ocean, once a relatively peaceful backyard, is now a fiercely contested arena of great power competition,” Air Marshal Dixit said.
His remarks came a day after the Union Cabinet approved changes to India’s foreign direct investment (FDI) policy governing investments from countries sharing land borders with India, including China, Pakistan and Bangladesh, to streamline approvals currently mandated under the Press Note 3 regime introduced in 2020.
The CISC pointed to China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) projects across the region, from Gwadar in Pakistan to Hambantota in Sri Lanka and growing influence in Bangladesh and the Maldives, as forming a strategic network around India’s maritime periphery.
“China’s Belt and Road investments in our neighbourhood… have stitched together a strategic footprint that now encircles India’s maritime domain. The Indian Ocean is no longer a benign backyard; it has become a competitive theatre,” the senior officer said.
He cautioned that these developments must be viewed as part of a broader strategic design rather than isolated infrastructure projects.
“Every port updated, every road built, every political leader cultivated is a piece of a larger strategic puzzle… India has sometimes responded project by project, crisis by crisis. We need a coherent counter-architecture of our own,” the CISC said.
Calling for a calibrated response, Air Marshal Dixit stressed the need to deepen defence self-reliance while sustaining strategic partnerships.
“We must deepen Aatmanirbharta in defence, particularly in drones, air defence systems and semiconductors. And we must sustain the QUAD Dialogue with the US, Japan and Australia as a counterweight to China’s regional ambitions while managing economic decoupling from Chinese supply chains without triggering unnecessary escalation,” the CISC said
Turning to Pakistan, Air Marshal Dixit said that even after Operation Sindoor, the country continues to remain a major security concern for India, with terrorism and military pressure still central to its approach.
“Terrorism and military concentration remain instruments of Pakistani state policy,” he said.
Referring to Pakistan's lessons from Op Sindoor, Air Marshal Dixit said that the country last year announced the creation of an Army Rocket Force Command (ARFC) modelled on China’s missile forces. "The ARFC is Pakistan’s attempt to create a dedicated conventional deterrence layer capable of striking Indian military targets deep inside our territory without crossing the nuclear threshold,” the CISC said.
Separately, Indian Army Chief Upendra Dwivedi had announced in January this year that India is also working on raising a rocket-cum-missile force capable of managing conventional ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and multi-barrel rocket launchers (MBRL).
The CISC further also pointed to Pakistan’s fresh constitutional amendment post Op Sindoor that concentrated greater military authority in the hands of Pakistan Army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, warning that such centralisation could shorten escalation timelines while increasing the risk of miscalculation during crises. "Conventional conflict space will expand… We are not dealing with the same Pakistan we managed for the past three decades,” Air Marshal Dixit said.
Turning to Bangladesh, Air Marshal Dixit said developments following the political transition in Dhaka have introduced new strategic dynamics in the relationship. He pointed to Chinese-backed infrastructure projects, plans to expand Mongla port and a joint China-Bangladesh drone venture in Bogra that would give Dhaka indigenous surveillance and strike capabilities under its Forces Goal 2030 modernisation plan. Bangladesh’s plans to acquire next-generation fighters and discussions around Pakistan’s JF-17 also signal evolving air power ambitions, he said.
“These are not the decisions of an adversary, but those of a neighbour that no longer sees India as its default security provider,” the CISC said, adding that India must sustain connectivity initiatives and engagement while addressing Dhaka’s sovereignty concerns. He added that the restoration of democratic politics in Bangladesh offered an opportunity to further strengthen bilateral ties.
Following the swearing-in of BNP chief Tarique Rahman last month, ties between India and Bangladesh have shown signs of improvement. Bangladesh’s High Commissioner to India visited the Army War College in Mhow this week, where he addressed over 180 senior officers of the tri-services’ Higher Command Course on the state of bilateral ties and the way forward.