South Asia has emerged as a pivotal region in today’s global conflicts, shaping military strategies, economic warfare, and geopolitical alliances. With three nuclear-armed states—India, Pakistan, and China—along with crucial trade routes and persistent regional tensions, South Asia plays a central role in proxy wars, strategic military positioning, and global power struggles.

China often avoids direct confrontation with its adversaries. Instead of engaging in open warfare or backing militant proxies like the United States and the former Soviet Union did during the Cold War, China prefers to challenge rivals through economic strategies. Historically, when both powers clashed, they constantly sought ways to counter each other’s influence. Today, China continues this trend by leveraging economic initiatives to undermine its competitors.

One key example is China’s renewed engagement with Afghanistan, aimed at boosting trade with Central Asia via land routes, much like the Silk Road of the past. The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), launched in 2013 by the People’s Republic of China, is a massive international development strategy involving investments in over 150 countries and organizations. Within this framework, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) stands out.........

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