Topic One Belt One Road for Group Discussion Practice Day-2

#Important_notes_ssb

#GD_MATERIAL

One Belt One Road Initiative :

•This project was launched by President Xi Jinping, in the year 2013.

• He called for the building of a silk road economic belt, which was named as the One Belt One Road (OBOR).

•It is a strategy to connect Asia with central Asia, Europe, and the countries around the Indo-pacific region. 

•This includes the formation of new ports, creating SEZs, facilitating E-commerce, and creating trade policies.

Features of OBOR:

The initiative of OBOR is divided into 2 parts:

1.The 'Belt' refers to the land-based ' Silk Road Economic Belt. ' It will link China to Central Asia, Eastern Europe, and Western Europe.

2.The 'Road' refers to the maritime ' 21st Century Silk Road. ' It will link South -East Asia, Africa, and Central Asia to China.

There are 6 economic corridors and 1 maritime road are decided under this initiative:

1.Eurasian Land Bridge (Connecting Western China with Western Russia)'

2.China - Mongolia - Russia (Connecting Northern China with Eastern part of Russia via Mongolia)

3.China - Central Asia and West Asia Corridor (Connecting West China with Turkey via West Asia)

4.China - Indochina (Connecting South China with Singapore)

5.Bangladesh - China - India - Myanmar (connecting China with Myanmar) 

6..China - Pakistan- Economic Corridor (Connecting China with Pakistan)

7.Maritime Sea route (Connecting the South China Sea with the Indian Ocean and South Pacific Ocean)

India’s stance on OBOR:

-First and foremost, it has to be noted that India so far has not taken a position on the OBOR project.

- The most pressing of India’s concerns is the CPEC corridor of China- Pakistan, which passes through POK, an area of conflict for India.

What are the options India has?

-If India does decide to participate in the project, it will help India’s border to develop better infrastructure. 

-Improved connectivity with close neighbors will also be fulfilled.

-However, India can take steps for connectivity on its own. We have project Mausam, an initiative to reconnect and re-establish communication links between countries of the Indian Ocean and enhancing their cultural values.

-The Chabahar port project is another such initiative. This gives India access to Afghanistan, Central Asia, and Europe, bypassing Pakistan completely.

- This is a connectivity solution for India in Central Asia. If India does choose to participate actively in there will be a huge advantage in terms of infrastructure and trade.

-We are also rapidly increasing the pace of developing new ports as well as renovating the new ones under Sagarmala Project.

-In conclusion, it can be stated that it’s reasonable to keep the doors of engagement open and carve out a niche for itself, in a manner that is perhaps mutually beneficial.

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