Infrastructural Investment ‘Warfare’?: The security risks of the Belt and Road Initiative investments in maritime Southeast Asia
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) promises to boost economic growth through its infrastructure investments. However, China’s complicated relationship with its Southeast Asian neighbors has aroused concerns about Chinese intentions. This thesis thus explores the possible security risks that Chinese infrastructure investments may pose to countries in maritime Southeast Asia (MSEA). A three-step analysis will be made of the potential risks, assessing Chinese intentions and capabilities, as well as the vulnerability of MSEA states to possible threats posed by China. Four key risks are identified — The threats to external and internal sovereignty, operational concerns, and regional implications. A primarily qualitative approach is taken, using the framework of risk assessment, since many projects have not been completed and remain in preliminary talks. This thesis shows how there is a need for a broader definition of security to fully appreciate the risks posed by the BRI. The current risks in MSEA through investment dependency are manageable but are particularly high in Malaysia. The greatest leverage that China has is passive or the promise of investment. However, the BRI enhances China’s ability to undermine both intra and inter-state unity to advance its interests and must be carefully managed to avoid fissures. The concerns over the security implications of the BRI investments may originate from threat perceptions of China but are nonetheless a real threat.
Description
| Type of resource | text |
|---|---|
| Date created | August 2018 |
Creators/Contributors
| Author | Li, Yiming |
|---|---|
| Degree granting institution | Stanford University, Stanford Global Studies, Center for East Asian Studies |
| Primary advisor | Oi, Jean |
Subjects
| Subject | Stanford Global Studies |
|---|---|
| Subject | East Asian Studies |
| Subject | China |
| Subject | Southeast Asia |
| Subject | Belt and Road Initiative |
| Subject | Security |
| Genre | Thesis |
Bibliographic information
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- Use and reproduction
- User agrees that, where applicable, content will not be used to identify or to otherwise infringe the privacy or confidentiality rights of individuals. Content distributed via the Stanford Digital Repository may be subject to additional license and use restrictions applied by the depositor.
- License
- This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 3.0 Unported license (CC BY-NC).
Preferred citation
- Preferred Citation
- Li, Yiming. (2018). Infrastructural Investment ‘Warfare’?: The security risks of the Belt and Road Initiative investments in maritime Southeast Asia. Stanford Digital Repository. Available at: https://purl.stanford.edu/th636bk6796
Collection
Stanford Center for East Asian Studies Thesis Collection
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- Contact
- liyiming@stanford.edu
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