TOPIC: General Studies 2
- India and its neighbourhood- relations.
- Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests
In News: China proposes construction of a trans-Himalayan trilateral economic corridor – India-Nepal-China economic corridor, an ambitious plan that seeks to connect the two countries and Nepal.
What exactly is OBOR?
Focuses on: Improving connectivity and cooperation as well as enhance land as well as maritime routes
India’s reservations need to be looked at from the sovereignty perspective
Lack of Trust and Transparency: For India to accept such a project, there would need to be an overall environment of trust and transparency, which, in the case of China, is lacking. India would prefer to focus on strengthening bilateral connectivity projects with Nepal.
China Pakistan Economic Corridor: India’s Achilles’ heel is the China Pakistan Economic Corridor, popularly known as CPEC.
China’s Trade Policy: China has already been using countries such as Thailand, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh to dump their products in India, and there is a huge bilateral trade deficit between China and India. India is not keen on this, especially because of a lack of structures in terms of customs and other clearances on border areas. While China wants to use third country routes to supply its products to India, it does not allow Indian services or certain other products access to its own market.
Way Ahead
As pointed out by The Economist magazine, China today talks not in terms of the China Model or the Beijing Consensus as it used to. The terminology used these days is “China solution” and “guiding globalisation”. Its initiatives, including OBOR, need to be viewed from the perspective of these newly coined phrases.
But, countries need to understand that connectivity initiatives must be based on “universally recognized international norms, good governance, rule of law, openness, transparency and equality, and must be pursued in a manner that respects sovereignty and territorial integrity.
India should also not simply sit out the project. It must actively engage with China to have its particular grievances addressed, articulate its concerns to other partner countries in a more productive manner, and take a position as an Asian leader, not an outlier in the quest for more connectivity. If the Chinese are looking at India’s support, they should look at India’s support in the areas near South China Sea or for that matter, Vietnam. But the Chinese do not want India in their neighbourhood.
India must not interfere in the decisions made by Nepal. As we want our sovereignty to be safeguarded, we should let the Nepal government also consider the pros and cons and take a decision.
Connecting the Dots:
Be Prelims-Ready:
Locate on the Map: Karakoram Range
