Recently, a new sea-road-rail link providing the key commercial hub of Chengdu, in western China, with access to the Indian Ocean via Myanmar was opened.
The first shipments from Singapore were delivered (through the Andaman Sea and via Myanmar) in Chengdu recently.
The New Trade Corridor
The new trade corridor connects the logistics lines of Singapore, Myanmar and China, and is currently the most convenient land and sea channel linking the Indian Ocean with southwest China.
This is the first trade corridor to link western China with the Indian Ocean.
It is considered to be the second Chinese outlet to the Indian Ocean, after the Gwadar port in Pakistan.
Malacca Dilemma: This trade route is China’s solution to the "Malacca Dilemma”, which refers to China’s fear that a maritime blockade at the Straits of Malacca could paralyze China’s economy as most of China’s oil imports pass through it. It also plans to develop the corridor as a part of the BRI.
Implications for India
The development of the new sea-road-rail link and the China Pakistan Economic Corridor coupled with China’s plans for a China-Nepal Economic Corridor (CNEC) which will link Tibet to Nepal represent China’s enhanced maritime presence around the Indian sub-continent.
They will serve China’s long-cherished aspirations in the region. These new developments have far-reaching economic and strategic implications for India.
