By Geethanjali Nataraj
India cannot miss out on this opportunity.
Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed the concept of the Maritime Silk Road (MSR) — now a part of the One Belt, One Road initiative — during his visit to Indonesia in October 2013.
The MSR is an attempt to promote economic cooperation and connectivity by reviving the ancient maritime Silk Road trading route. To this end, China has pledged US$40 billion in the Silk Road Fund to develop infrastructure along the route.
The main aim of China’s One Belt, One Road initiative is to develop its landlocked western provinces and enable them to access the markets of Southeast Asia and the Middle East, thus shaping China’s regional periphery by exercising economic, cultural and political influence. India was cordially invited to be a part of the new MSR but so far its response has been lukewarm.
India’s reticence has mainly been due to uncertainty about how the MSR will be implemented, along with concerns as to whether it will have a geoeconomic rationale or a security orientation. The MSR will extend from Quanzhou in China’s Fujian province, heading south to Malacca Strait. From Kuala Lumpur it will head to Kolkata before crossing the northern Indian Ocean to Nairobi.
In China’s view, the MSR will increase maritime connectivity and cooperation on disaster mitigation and the development of fisheries between the Indo-Pacific, East Africa and the Mediterranean. In India, there are diverse views about the initiative. Some are in favor of India becoming an active partner while others are cautious of the covert military side of the MSR.
Read the full story at The Diplomat