NEW DELHI: India is taking a ‘wait and see’ approach in the development of the One Belt, One Road (OBOR) initiative, said Alok Deb, Director-General, Institute for Defence Studies and Analysis.
He said there were many claims and counter-claims regarding the development of OBOR and the Indian government was studying the impact of the project towards the country in all aspects.
Although India was not involved in the development of OBOR for now, the country was playing a part in the Bangladesh, China, India and Myanmar (BCIM) Economic Corridor.
“We are operating a clear and transparent project with China which is building a corridor from Kolkata to Kunming.
“If we can co-operate on that project, I believe we can work together in other fields (such as the OBOR development), but for now, we prefer to wait-and-see,” he told reporters from the Indian Association Rim Association (IORA) here on Monday.
IORA involves 21 countries that share the Indian Ocean including Australia, Bangladesh, Union of Comoros, India, Indonesia, Iran, Kenya, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mozambique, Oman, Seychelles, Singapore, Somalia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen.
OBOR initiatives, the brainchild of Chinese President Xi Jinping, envisions connecting Asia, Europe and Africa through a network of roads, ports, high-speed rail, pipelines and telecommunication to boost economic activities between China and countries along the route and to promote sustainable and well-balanced growth.
The ‘belt’ refers to the ‘Silk Road Economic Belt’, which runs through Central Asia, Iran, Turkey and Eastern Europe while the ‘road’ refers to the ‘Maritime Silk Road’, which runs through Southeast Asia, South Asia, Africa and the Mediterranean.
They both end in Western Europe, the terminus of the ancient Silk Road, which connected China to Rome via the Middle East. — Bernama