Posted on 11/30/2016 12:52:24 PM PST by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
India’s foreign policy has been forged in the crucible of its geopolitical challenges. It is surrounded by failing states, including Pakistan and Bangladesh, and hemmed by an emergent superpower, China, with whom it shares a troubled history. One has referred in this column of China’s growing proximity to Pakistan, best exemplified by the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Even though the threats posed to India include the passage of the CPEC through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), the location of the corridor, and the internal conflicts in Pakistan between hardliners on Kashmir and votaries of economic development, suggest that the danger may be overstated. Simultaneously, the development of another road spanning Bangladesh, China, India and Myanmar (BCIM), offers India an opportunity to create its own win-win relationship with China.
The BCIM is a 2,800km-long corridor that starts from Kolkata and passes through Bangladesh and Myanmar before ending at Kunming in China. It seeks to revive the southern Silk Route between Assam and Yunnan, and is expected to cost $22 billion. It offers significant gains to China. This includes access to the Indian market, unfettered access to the Bay of Bengal for fuel supplies, and development of Yunnan, a backward province.
Many commentators have cautioned against India’s participation in the corridor because of the vast gains accruing to China. That thinking is appropriate in a zero-sum situation where the gain of one country is equal to the loss of the other. However, in a non-zero-sum situation, each country should aim to do as well as it possibly can, not in an absolute sense but with respect to what the other country is doing. In such a situation, the objective is to find a Nash Equilibrium—a configuration of strategies that constitute a mutual best reply.
(Excerpt) Read more at livemint.com ...
Interesting read. Thx for posting.
You might find this one interesting.
The problem not addressed are the mountains. The mountains have always been and still are a major problem for ground transport.
The Indians appear to be big on tunneling. For example, they’re digging a long tunnel through the mountains in Jammu and Kashmir to ensure that the main road isn’t blocked by snow in the wintertime.
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