'Cooperation best way forward for Beijing, Delhi'

Beijing, March 27:  Linking India’s “Spice Route” and “Mausam” projects with Chi’s “One Belt and One Road” initiative could provide a way to mitigate New Delhi’s suspicions over cooperating with Beijing to create tangible benefits for both sides and achieve maritime objectives, a leading English daily of Chi said on Friday. Chinese Ambassador to India Le Yucheng recently remarked that “the One Belt and One Road initiatives can also be linked with India’s Spice Route and Mausam projects”, Global Times reported, adding that it might provide a blueprint for cooperation between New Delhi and Beijing and help India to set suspicions aside.

The op-ed piece headlined “Cooperation best route for Beijing and Delhi over maritime objectives” was based on an interview with Wang Dehua, head of the Institute for the Southern and Central Asian Studies, the Shanghai Municipal Center for Intertiol Studies.  It said there was no easy way of persuading a rising power in Chi’s neighbourhood to recognise that its mega project is not seeking for influence or striving for hegemony.  Pointing out that India’s Mausam and Spice Route initiatives were launched to re-establish India’s ancient maritime routes with its ancient trading partners, the daily added that it was clear that India will focus on its maritime strategy in the future, “which will go hand in hand with its large scale of infrastructure construction”.

“The recent outreach of Indian Prime Minister rendra Modi to the Indian Ocean states of Seychelles, Mauritius and Sri Lanka is widely regarded as a move to boost India’s maritime influence,” it said. The report added that New Delhi was also planning to develop some new projects in the ocean, including Project Seabird, “an ambitious val infrastructure programme”.  (IANS)