China's involvement in South Asia has been increasing over the past decade, with the country undertaking a number of large-scale infrastructure projects in the region, while also increasing the level of trade and investment with countries of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).

As of 2012, China's trade with SAARC countries other than India was approximately $25 billion. Slowly but surely, Beijing has managed to increase its footprint in countries such as Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bangladesh, making substantial investments in infrastructure which includes ports, railway lines and highways.

Economic ties with India have also witnessed an increase. Trade between the two countries totaled $65.47 billion in 2013, though the balance of trade is heavily skewed in favor of China.

In addition to closer economic ties with South Asia, China is also looking at making inroads into the region via big projects like the Maritime Silk Road, in which certain SAARC countries like Sri Lanka, Maldives and Bangladesh have already evinced interest. There are also projects like the BCIM Corridor in which Bangladesh, India and Myanmar are participants.

In addition to increasing linkages through the above methods, Beijing has also evinced interest in becoming a member of the SAARC. At the recent summit held in Kathmandu, Pakistan, along with some other SAARC members, spoke in favor of granting membership to China, which has been an observer since 2006.

India in the imminent future is not likely to be comfortable with the idea of China becoming a member of the SAARC. Many Chinese analysts argue that India's opposition is unwarranted considering the improvement in Sino-Indian ties in recent times and the fact that India is a member of a number of organizations like BRICS, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and is also a part of the BCIM Corridor. Besides, China has promised to offer full membership of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) to India.

But there are a number of reasons why India is skeptical about China becoming a full member of the SAARC.

There is a feeling in India that China will link up with some countries in the region with which India shares strained relations. This would lead to further tensions not just between SAARC countries, but also have an adverse impact on bilateral relations between Beijing and New Delhi.

The fact that certain other countries with which India has ambivalent relations spoke in favor of Chinese membership of SAARC at the recent summit did not help.

In other organizations, including BRICS, China has played the lead role. Ever since the last decade, India has been playing a more proactive role in South Asia by granting economic assistance, and the current government headed by Narendra Modi has tried to strengthen India's influence in the SAARC. New Delhi does not want to play second fiddle. While economically China may have overtaken India, the latter too has a global stature and will not accept domination of any sort.

It is also important to keep in mind that there are those in India who realize the importance of strong economic ties with Beijing, but are skeptical about China's ties with other South Asian countries and feel that China's main aim is to encircle India by increasing its presence in its backyard.

Even if India were given membership in the SCO, India cannot play much of a role in the organization, so there is no real incentive for India to undertake such a major risk as allowing China to be a member of the SAARC.

The author is senior research associate with The Jindal School of International Affairs, Sonepat. opinion@globaltimes.com