Chinese salami slicing strategy

"nibbling like a silkworm"[1]) is a geopolitical strategy involving a series of small steps allegedly taken by the government of People's Republic of China that would become a larger gain which would have been difficult or unlawful to perform all at once.

[2][3][4] When discussing this concept, notedly debated in the publications of the Lowy Institute from Australia, some defenders of the concept are Brahma Chellaney, Jasjit Singh, Bipin Rawat or the Observer Research Foundation from India or the United States Institute of Peace, Bonnie S. Glaser (Center for Strategic and International Studies) or Erik Voeten (The Washington Post) from the US, while detractors are H. S. Panag from India or Linda Jakobson.

According to Indian strategist and writer Brahma Chellaney, "salami slicing" rather than overt aggression is China's favored strategy because none of its series of small actions serves as a casus belli by itself.

Brahma Chellaney has cited China's incorporation of Aksai Chin in a step-by-step process between 1952 and 1964, its 2020-2021 border skirmishes with India, and Tajikistan's Pamir Mountains as examples.

[5][6][2][7] The Five Fingers of Tibet involving Nepal and Bhutan as well as the String of Pearls in the Indian Ocean have also been described as manifestations of China's salami slicing.

[2] Retired Indian Brigadier S. K. Chatterji extended salami slicing in reference to China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Confucius Institute, allegations of technology theft, involvement in the World Health Organization, activities in Hong Kong and Tibet, and diplomatic support for North Korea and Pakistan.

Some critics have claimed that the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is having the effect of pressuring Papua New Guinea, Sri Lanka, Kenya, Djibouti, Egypt, Ethiopia, and other nations who are unable to pay their debts, to hand over their infrastructure and resources to China.

[14][15] However, other analysts such as the Lowy Institute argue that the BRI is not the main cause of failed projects,[16] while the Rhodium Group found that "asset seizures are a very rare occurrence", while debt write-off is the most common outcome.

[40] Australia has empowered the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, Australian Federal Police (AFP) and the Attorney-General’s Department to target the China-linked entities and people under new legislation to combat Chinese influence operations, including the alleged deployment of the United Front Work Department of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

China's outposts in the disputed South China Sea are often cited as examples of a "salami slicing" tactic. Map depicts 2015.
The Line of Actual Control between China and India (map by the CIA)
China's claimed nine-dash line in red, part of the ongoing territorial disputes in the South China Sea .
U.S. officials announced 23 criminal charges (Financial Fraud, Money Laundering, Conspiracy to Defraud the United States, Theft of Trade Secret Technology and Sanctions Violations, etc.) against Chinese technology company Huawei .