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| China's Silk Road (Land and Sea) |
By Arushi Gupta
The two countries seek to improve cooperation ahead of next month’s summit.
Indian and Chinese officials concluded talks in Beijing earlier this month that covered a host of issues, including the establishment of new confidence building methods, joint efforts on humanitarian disasters at sea, as well as four additional points of emergency interaction between border personnel in the Ladakh region, at Track Junction, Panging Tso Lake, Demchock and Chumar. This last issue was driven by recent confrontations between Indian and Chinese troops along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh, one of which led to a stand-off that lasted a fortnight. The dialogue also discussed initiatives to counter terrorism.
In the background to this defense dialogue, the seventh, China has been touting its vision of linking two Indian projects (Mausam and Spice Route) with its One Belt One Road (OBOR) initiative, namely the Silk Road Economic Belt (SREB) and the 21st century Maritime Silk Route (MSR).
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| Indian's Mausam project |
Apart from its economic implications, the OBOR initiative clearly seeks to strengthen China’s regional influence, while aspiring to connect China with Africa and Europe by road, sea and rail. Funding for the initiative will be provided through the new Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), which India has recently joined as a founding member. China has created a $40 billion fund along with a financing facility for OBOR through the AIIB, which is slated to become fully operational later this year.
However, the OBOR initiative raises potential concerns for some countries in Asia, notably Japan, India and Russia. Although China claims that the project is a “win-win” for all involved, for its part India sees a major risk in Chinese investment in Sri Lanka. Late last month, Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke of trilateral China-India-Sri Lanka cooperation with Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena. This worries New Delhi, although recent political changes in Sri Lanka have changed the equation somewhat, with the Sirisena government putting on hold the $1.5 billion Colombo Port City project, a key component of the MSR.
Read the full story at The Diplomat