India missed out on the chance of attending the One Belt One Road Forum held in Beijing by refusing to send an official delegation to the forum. India has had reservations about the project since the beginning; the reason why Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, visited China to express his dislike for the initiative. The route that the project will follow will pass through Gilgit-Baltistan; an area that India claims is disputed, and hence, supposedly the project will be challenging the sovereignty of the country.

At the same time, India loses on the economic front if China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) reaches fruition. China and Pakistan’s bilateral relations improve as a result, and the Pakistani economy will improve because China’s vision involves boosting trade and employment opportunities. At the same time, the country has also asked India to respect the developmental paths of other countries.

India has, for the longest time, been trying to create hindrances in the development of Pakistan. On the behest of India, there are tensions on the borders and they cannot stand the thought of Pakistan progressing economically. India has to understand that it is not the only emerging economy in this region, and despite the strength of its economy; it cannot curtail the growth of other economies by expressing reservations about their initiatives.

China has had the one belt one road vision for quite some time. The revival of the ancient Silk Route is very important to the state and hence, it will not any time soon give in to the demands made by India. The forum was a chance for International cooperation which India clearly missed or was too stubborn to understand. It has been termed as a diplomatic failure by several of their news outlets; stating that the country should have acted as the Asian leader by not closing diplomatic means to seek a solution. However, these people seem to be living in a bubble. How can a country be a regional leader when 276 million people of the entire population live below $1.26 per day on the purchasing power parity?

While they may have the support of the West at this point; there is no denying that China remains a stronger contender for power not just regionally but also globally. Opposing them at this stage, despite China’s friendly gestures, will not be beneficial for the state, and while the BJP is blind to this, the rest of India isn’t. In time, the ruling party’s stubbornness will lead it its downfall.