Introduction
The
Asian Land Transport Development Project (ALTD) has progressed in fits and
starts since the early 1990s. Two important components were the Asian Highway
Project or the Great Asian Highway and the Trans Asian Railway. The southern
leg of this project, connecting South East Asia to South Asia and beyond has
not progressed as rapidly as desirable.
The time may be ripe for giving much greater attention to this component
in the context of a broader vision for the “Southern Asia” from Vietnam to
Afghanistan, by creating a transport, trade and investment corridor. At some point in the future this SE-NW
corridor could extend from Afghanistan to the Northern tip of the Caspian Sea
and also fork West from Afghanistan to Israel.
China, which constitutes the
great land mass in the center of Asia, has
already built East-West corridors across its breadth and is actively engaged in
extending these westward to Europe. Similarly Russia constitutes much of the
Northern land mass of Asia and already integrates within its borders from its
Asian East coast to its European part. We need a similar initiative in the Southern
land mass of Asia, stretching from Vietnam through Afghanistan to Israel. This task is much more challenging than the
one faced by Russia or China, because so many countries are involved.
A New Vision
Much economic development in most Asian countries centers either around
the national capital or around coastal cities. We need to move development to
the interiors of Asian countries situated in the great land mass of Asia, by
connecting isolated centers of economic
activity in each country with those in other countries physically or
economically closer to them but separated
by historical boundaries and consequent infrastructural evolution.
The 20th century
vision of road and rail transport connectivity must be expanded in several
dimensions to meet the challenges and opportunities in the 21st
century. The new vision must cover several new dimensions: One, an integrated approach
to transport of goods and services. This requires the development of an integrated
plan for transport of goods, services and people using road, rail and river
transport (Trans Asian Water way) to minimize transport costs. Second,
is an exploration of the possibility of
transferring energy (Trans Asian energy grid) and water along these corridors to reduce demand-supply mismatches.
Third, is a communication network that includes broadband connectivity (trans Asian Internet), which
could globalize their information and thinking. Fourth is the standardization/harmonization of
customs and other rules for trade, transport and transit of goods and services
across borders and through these countries (Asian Carnet et al). Fifth are visa and other rules for tourists
and movement of persons for delivery of skills and for management of cross-border
FDI enterprises.
Planning & Funding
As Japan and the Asian Development Bank
have been among the important supporters of ALTD connectivity projects and still
have the required funds, it is time for them to take the lead, along with ASEAN and India, in expediting
& expanding its ambit. Though China
has the funds and is looking actively for infrastructure projects, it seems primarily interested in North-South corridors connecting its Western interiors to the Indian Ocean, through trusted strategic allies like Pakistan(a 21st
century Chinese version of 19th century Russian ambitions).
Conclusion
Several initiatives in SAARC, BIMSTEC and
ASEAN have helped in incremental but limited integration of the Southern Asian
landmass from Afghanistan to Vietnam. In my judgment the time is now ripe for
raising this to a higher level, by preparing a comprehensive Vision Statement
and a detailed Action Plan for economic integration of the interior areas of South
and South East Asia. At some point in the future this initiative could be
extended Westward to the shores of the Mediterranean and North-West to the
shores of the Caspian Sea.
(1) "They underlined their determination to expand cooperation with other partners, to enhance connectivity in the Indo-Pacific region"
(2) Seeking the synergy between India’s "Act East” policy and Japan’s "Partnership for Quality Infrastructure”, the two Prime Ministers decided to develop and strengthen reliable, sustainable and resilient infrastructures that augment connectivity within India and between India and other countries in the region.
Post Script
The India-Japan joint vision statement issued by the Prime Ministers of India and Japan on December 12, 2015 appears to take this proposal forward. It states among other things that,(1) "They underlined their determination to expand cooperation with other partners, to enhance connectivity in the Indo-Pacific region"
(2) Seeking the synergy between India’s "Act East” policy and Japan’s "Partnership for Quality Infrastructure”, the two Prime Ministers decided to develop and strengthen reliable, sustainable and resilient infrastructures that augment connectivity within India and between India and other countries in the region.
No comments:
Post a Comment