In News
- Australia and Maldives did not participate in the recently held Indian Ocean Region Forum convened by China.
About Forum
- Organiser: China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA) which is Beijing’s new development aid agency
- Participants:
- “high-level representatives” from 19 countries, including Indonesia, Pakistan, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Maldives, Nepal, Afghanistan, Iran, Oman, South Africa, Kenya, Mozambique, Tanzania, Seychelles, Madagascar, Mauritius, Djibouti, and Australia.
- No representative from India was invited.
- Recent Proposals at Forum:
- China has proposed to establish a marine disaster prevention and mitigation cooperation mechanism between China and countries in the IOR.
- Prominence of Indian Ocean Region (IOR) in the Chinese policy framework:
- China’s prominent role in global supply chains,
- The vast resource base of the Indian Ocean, and
- The passage of strategic sea lines of communication through the IOR.
- Concerns:
- China’s initiation of a new forum for IOR countries despite the other successfully established forums is worrisome.
- China has been relentlessly trying to ramp up political, economic and security inroads in the region despite being geographically far from IOR.
- Apparently aimed at countering India’s strong influence in the region.
- China has often been accused of engaging in “debt diplomacy”
Source: TH
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