China-Indian Ocean Region Forum

In News

• Australia and Maldives did not participate in the recently held Indian Ocean Region Forum convened by China.

About Forum

• Organiser: China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA) which is Beijing’s new development aid agency
• Participants: 
  • “high-level representatives” from 19 countries, including Indonesia, Pakistan, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Maldives, Nepal, Afghanistan, Iran, Oman, South Africa, Kenya, Mozambique, Tanzania, Seychelles, Madagascar, Mauritius, Djibouti, and Australia. 
  • No representative from India was invited.
• Recent Proposals at Forum:
  • China has proposed to establish a marine disaster prevention and mitigation cooperation mechanism between China and countries in the IOR.
• Prominence of Indian Ocean Region (IOR) in the Chinese policy framework:
  • China’s prominent role in global supply chains,
  • The vast resource base of the Indian Ocean, and 
  • The passage of strategic sea lines of communication through the IOR.
• Concerns:
  • China’s initiation of a new forum for IOR countries despite the other successfully established forums is worrisome.
  • China has been relentlessly trying to ramp up political, economic and security inroads in the region despite being geographically far from IOR.
  • Apparently aimed at countering India’s strong influence in the region.
  • China has often been accused of engaging in “debt diplomacy” 

Source: TH