Maritime Silk Road and the Blue Economy: Opportunities and Challenges for South Asia
The Maritime Silk Road (MSR) refers to China’s project of connectivity with other parts of the world through a vast network of ports, special economic zones, pipelines, and fiber-optic cables. It was introduced under the grand Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), along with the Silk Road Economic Belt, in 2013 by His Excellency President Xi Jinping. It begins in the east of China, from Fuzhou to Haiphong in Vietnam, Jakarta in Indonesia, Colombo in Sri Lanka, Gwadar in Pakistan, Kolkata in India, Mombasa in Kenya, Athens in Greece, Venice in Italy, and finally to Rotterdam in the Netherlands. Among the South Asian countries, only India and Bhutan are not active participants of the Belt and Road Initiative. Together, both the MSR and the Blue Economy can become a new horizon for South Asia.
The Blue Economy refers to economic activities associated with the wise use of ocean resources, such as living, non-living, and biological, while preserving the health of the ecosystem. The Blue Economy plays a fundamental role in boosting a country’s economy and improving living standards. Throughout history, the oceans have played a fundamental role in promoting trade, value, and tradition to other parts of the world. China remained an influential participant in ocean trade, especially during the Ming Dynasty. Admiral Zheng He led many voyages that significantly demonstrated the role of the oceans in promoting the economy and connecting the world. The oceans are considered the new pathways of power because controlling them can lead to geopolitical influence. Around 90% of trade is currently moved by the ocean.
For the South Asian countries, especially those that share long coastal areas such as Pakistan (1,046 km), Sri Lanka (1,340 km), Bangladesh (580 km), and Maldives (644 km), the MSR offers many opportunities. The MSR has played an important role in infrastructural development near the coastal areas. The MSR offers three major types of infrastructural development, which include transport, industrial zones, and social or urban infrastructure. For instance, the Gwadar Port Free Zone Agriculture Industrial Park in Pakistan, linked to the Gwadar Port through the N-10, the Hambantota Port Industrial Park in Sri Lanka, and the Shah Amanat Bridge in Bangladesh provide space for houseware and ensure a flow of goods. Through the ports and infrastructural development, the MSR is enhancing the Blue Economy, by providing many jobs in industrial zones. Ports like Chittagong, Gwadar, Colombo, and Hambantota are considered productive for local communities. These ports are connecting local communities with international standards of trade by improving infrastructure, cold storage, warehousing, and logistics. These ports help local people to enhance their living standards, by earning more money. Although Afghanistan, Bhutan, and Nepal are landlocked countries, the MSR still offers many opportunities; by improving transit connectivity to neighboring ports such as Gwadar and Chittagong Ports, this will help handicraft items from Nepal, hydropower resources from Bhutan, and Afghan minerals reach the global market.
In South Asia, political instability and bad governance are posing several threats to the smooth functioning of this initiative. Due to the lack of advanced political culture in South Asia, countries often face political instability and civil wars within their borders. Frequent changes in government and secessionist movements, such as in Balochistan, Jaffna in Sri Lanka, and west Myanmar, are posing threats to regional development. Some groups see the MSR as China’s debt trap policy and neo-imperial expansion, which builds a negative narrative around the region. These politically sensitive issues often pose threats to joint collaboration in mutual trade policies. Political instability within a country or in the region reduces investors’ confidence. Poor governance such as corruption, hurdles in customs, and weak implementation of trade policies hinder the smooth functioning of the ports. Another challenge is that the MSR offers advanced infrastructure and technology, which calls for skilled labor. The lack of skilled labor and politically sensitive regions affect efficiency and growth. Environmental concerns are also present, on which South Asian countries should focus. Unplanned rapid port development can lead to the destruction of marine ecosystems. The release of harmful waste and chemicals from industrial zones causes marine pollution.
South Asian countries can solve these issues through adopting various reforms such as, the issue of political instability within a country can be resolved by strengthening the trust of people in institutions and increasing the level of transparency. It can also be addressed through peaceful mechanisms of conflict resolution. To make the region politically stable and peaceful, countries should settle their disputes through regional forums such as the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). China has to play a more active role in building trust and promoting trade between countries so that shared interests can promote a stable political environment. The level of governance can be improved by enhancing transparency. Countries should encourage public-private partnerships to strengthen the level of governance. The skills development programs by host countries and international firms can be encouraged to solve the issue of unskilled labor. These programs should focus on learning the basics of the Blue Economy, how it can be valuable for the development of the country, and should include programs related to ports and logistics knowledge. Scholarships should be encouraged for this, such as the Silk Road Scholarship by China. To solve the environmental challenges, there should be regular check over waste management. A team should be established to check how industries are managing their waste. There should be proper implementation of laws regarding fishing limits. Government can also take action by providing training to fishermen to not catch small fish.
