evidence: Over the last decade, China has become far more attentive to its South Asian periphery, moving beyond commercial and development engagements to more far-reaching political and security ones.3 However, most analyses of these changing parameters of engagement have focused on the Chinese end of these relationships, and too often analytical attention is limited to examining specific infrastructure projects or investments under Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). This has left an incomplete picture of Chinese engagement because it misses the degree to which South Asian states are trying to manage and mitigate the impacts of Chinese influence that they view as inimical to their interests, even as they continue to develop political, military, and especially commercial ties with Chinese actors. [...] 72 "नेपालतिर नजिकिँदै चिनियाँ रेल" (Chinese Rail Nearing Nepal), Kantipur, July 30, 2014, https://ekantipur.com/printedition/2014/07/30/326419.html. [...] 138 "Rajapaksa Comeback Bid Checked by Sri Lanka Bribery Probe," Reuters, July 24, 2015, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-sri-lanka-rajapaksa-idUSKCN0PY1PK20150724.