China's One Belt One Road: Initiative, Challenges and Prospects by B K Sharma & Dr. Nivedita Das Kundu

Author:B K Sharma & Dr. Nivedita Das Kundu [Sharma, B K & Kundu, Nivedita Das]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Business & Economics, Development, Economic Development, Political Science, Globalization
ISBN: 9789385563591
Google: ErRXDQEACAAJ
Amazon: B01HUBYVJM
Barnesnoble: B01HUBYVJM
Goodreads: 32793018
Publisher: VIJ BOOKS INDIA
Published: 2016-01-15T07:07:15+00:00

4

Maritime Silk Road: An Indian Perspective

MH Rajesh

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) also called the One Belt One Road (OBOR) by China has attracted the attention of scholars and statesmen alike. Converting the recall value of the Ancient Silk Road, China has proposed a Sino centric idea of physical networks spanning continents and oceans. Apart from its physical vastness, the idea spans across a gamut of domains, from economics to culture. Physically, the Belt and Road Initiative has two segments. To the North is the land Route that cuts across Eurasia, called the Silk Road Economic Belt (SREB). To the South there is the sea route called Maritime Silk Road (MSR), commencing in the Chinese Coast passing through South East Asia into Indian Ocean touching several ports en route before terminating in Europe. This chapter will try to examine the historic premise, economic rationale, and dynamics of maritime transportation, geopolitical implications and responses to the Maritime Silk Road idea. The chapter will also examine areas of concerns and possible areas of convergence between India and China regarding One Belt One Road.

Historical Overview

It was Western demand for riches of Asia like China’s silk and India’s spice that inspired the vast network of roads and ports across Eurasia and Indian Ocean. Silk and spice were light, highly valued and were non-perishable making them ideal drivers of global commerce. During that phase of history, India and China together shared over 80% of global GDP1. World is again reaching a point of time when Asia is coming to its centre stage. The routes existed from 200BC to around 1500AD and came to be collectively called the Silk Route. The credit for the nomenclature of these routes as Silk Route goes to Ferdinand Richtofen, a German Geographer who published his work in 1877 after extensive exploration of this region. This ancient route weakened due to a tumultuous power shift along its alignment when the Ottoman Empire displaced the Byzantine Empire. This forced the western world to discover a direct sea route to India, being a destination as well as a significant transit hub, reduced the relevance of this network after 1500AD2.The southern maritime route, the predecessor of present Maritime Silk Road offered far less terrestrial friction, could carry larger loads and faced lesser political uncertainties. It was also more multimodal, where predictable monsoon winds aided sea based transportation across Indian Ocean. The oceanic route handed goods over to a contiguous overland route which traversed across Egypt, onwards to Mediterranean coast. Across the Mediterranean, maritime mode clutched in again. The ease, economy of scale and multimodality, remains a key factor in Maritime Transportation. Till date 90% of global trade in volume is being carried via sea and therefore maritime transportation plays a significant role in global prosperity and growth.

Contemporary Silk Route

It was in October 2013, during a visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping3to Indonesia that the 21 Century Maritime Silk Road was announced. The location was significant; as Indonesia, the archipelagic nation is strategically located on the Maritime Silk Road.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.