China bolsters its string of pearls

| | Beijing
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China bolsters its string of pearls

Saturday, 10 November 2018 | PNS/Agencies | Beijing

China bolsters its string of pearls

To build port in Myanmar, 3rd in India’s vicinity

With China inking an agreement with Myanmar to build a deep sea port there in the Bay of Bengal, India’s security establishment will monitor this development as this is the third port built by China in its neighbourhood thereby encircling India and posing a threat to country’s strategic and economic interests. The other two ports are in Gwadar, Pakistan and Hambantota in Sri Lanka.

Though China has always denied its efforts to flex its muscle in the Indian Ocean and Bay of Bengal in the country’s neighbourhood, the building of ports and roads emanate from the “String of Pearls” philosophy of the eastern neighbour.

It means China is fostering close ties with all the countries located around India by extending financial help and building infrastructure.

Moreover, the Chinese Navy is rapidly modernising and has started patrols in the Indian Ocean region in the last few years thereby posing a new challenge to India’s maritime interests. Though the Chinese Navy submarines and warships patrol in the international waters, the Indian security establishment is keeping a close watch on China’s growing maritime prowess.

China and Myanmar signed an agreement to build the deep sea port project in Kyaukpyu town after negotiations dragged for years due to financing and other issues, State-run Global Times reported on Friday. China is also developing deep water strategic Gwadar port in Pakistan in the Arabian Sea which faces the Mumbai coast. It has also acquired Sri Lanka’s Hambantota port on debt swap in the Indian Ocean.

The Chinese consortium led by State-owned conglomerate Citic Group signed the framework agreement with the Kyaukpyu Special Economic Zone Management Committee on the development of the Kyaukpyu, deep-sea port, at a ceremony in the Myanmar capital of Nay Pyi Taw, the report said.

Under the framework agreement, China will fund 70 per cent of the investment for the project and Myanmar will pitch in the remaining 30 per cent. The initial phase of the project will include two berths with a total investment of $1.3 billion, according to the agreement. A joint venture will be set up to construct and operate the port.

The signing of the framework agreement marks a significant step for the port project, which has been stalled since 2015, and for the continued implementation of the China-proposed Belt and Road initiative (BRI), which has come under increased scrutiny because of the cases such as the Kyaukpyu port project, the report said.

The Chinese consortium first won the bid to construct the port in December 2015 with an estimated investment of $7 billion but further development was halted due to disagreement between the two sides over details of the project’s funding.

This is the biggest project China had secured after Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi took charge of the Government replacing the prolonged rule of pro-China military junta.

Prolonged negotiations fuelled criticism of the BRI as it could add to Myanmar debts and even threaten other countries’ sovereignty. The Kyaukpyu project is estimated to bring 1,00,000 jobs to the local community and will contribute as much as USD 15 billion in tax revenue to Myanmar. Once completed, the port will have an annual gross output of USD 3.2 billion, the report said.

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