Hasan, A., Ferdos, J., & Habib, M. A. (2026). Multipolarity and Regionalism: The Opportunities and Challenges for South Asia. Global Journal of Emerging Market Economies, 1–16. doi: 10.1177/09749101261415714
The authors would like to bring to your attention the following changes in the above-mentioned article.
On Pages 2 and 6, the citation ‘World Bank, 2024a’ has been replaced with ‘World Bank, 2023’.
On Page 6, the phrase ‘heavily rely on India for trade and access to maritime routes because they are landlocked’ has been replaced with ‘Nepal and Bhutan are largely dependent on India for trade and maritime access due to their landlocked status’ in the sentence ‘While Pakistan attempts to rival India…’
On Page 8, the phrase ‘India and Pakistan must’ has been replaced with ‘It is crucial for India and Pakistan to’ in the sentence ‘India and Pakistan must recognize the importance of revitalizing…’
On Page 10, the following paragraph has been updated:
Original: Finally, the initiative significantly influences the balance of power in the Indo-Pacific, especially in the Bay of Bengal region. Like New Delhi, Washington has grown increasingly suspicious of China’s BRI, viewing it as a way for China to further its geopolitical goals. This concern stems from the belief that the BRI could trap developing countries in perpetual debt cycles, making them dependent on China—a phenomenon known as “debt trap diplomacy” (Bhattarai, 2019). The US authorities argue that this threatens the sovereignty of the affected nations as loans may be repaid through economic or strategic concessions to China (Ye, 2021). This view suggests that the BRI is not merely an infrastructural ambition but also serves as a strategic tool for China to boost its power and international standing (Prasetyo, 2024).
Updated: Finally, the initiative has profoundly affected the power dynamics in the Indo-Pacific, especially within the Bay of Bengal region (Bhattarai, 2019). Some experts argue that BRI functions as a mechanism for balancing power in South Asia by curtailing the dominance of New Delhi and Washington in the region (Ye, 2021). Although both powers have sought to convince smaller nations that the BRI could lead to “debt-trap diplomacy” - rendering them dependent on China and threatening their national sovereignty through potential economic or strategic concessions - their concerns have not been widely embraced or followed by smaller states in South Asia. This view suggests that the BRI is not merely an infrastructural ambition but also serves as a strategic tool for China to enhance its regional influence and international standing (Prasetyo, 2024), while simultaneously balancing the power dynamics within the South Asia region (Hasan, 2024).
On Page 12, the citation ‘BIMSTEC, 2021’ has been replaced with ‘BIMSTEC Secretariat, 2019’
On Page 12, the following sentence has been updated:
Original: Chinese economic assistance is significant; however, it necessitates careful balancing of foreign policy goals to avert the risk of overreliance and falling into a debt trap.
Updated: Chinese economic assistance is significant; however, it necessitates careful balancing of foreign policy goals to avert the risk of overreliance.
On Page 14, the following reference has been updated:
Original: BIMSTEC. (2021). Agriculture and food security - home-the Bay of Bengal initiative for multi-sectoral technical and economic. Bimstec.org. https://bimstec.org/agriculture-and-food-security
Updated: BIMSTEC Secretariat. (2019). About BIMSTEC. https://bimstec.org/page_id=18 (accessed 20.04.2024)
On Page 16, the following references have been updated:
Original: World Bank. (2024a). Population, total—South Asia. https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.POP.TOTL?locations=8S
Updated: World Bank. (2023). Population, total - South Asia. World Bank. https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.POP.TOTL?end=2023&locations=8S&start=2023&view=map
Original: World Bank. (2024b). South Asia should remove trade barriers for mutual economic gains: New World Bank report. https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2018/09/24/south-asia-remove-trade-barriers-mutual-economic-gains-report
Updated: World Bank. (2024). South Asia Should Remove Trade Barriers for Mutual Economic Gains: New World Bank Report. https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2018/09/24/south-asia-remove-trade-barriers-mutual-economic-gains-report (accessed 05.11.2025).
The online version of the article has been corrected.
