Plan of the Silk Road with its maritime branch

The 21st Century Maritime Silk Road (Chinese: 21世纪海上丝绸之路), commonly just Maritime Silk Road (MSR), is the sea route part of the Belt and Road Initiative which is[1] a Chinese strategic initiative to increase investment and foster collaboration across the historic Silk Road.[2][3][4]

The maritime silk road essentially runs from the Chinese coast to the south via Hanoi to Jakarta, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur through the Strait of Malacca then via Colombo in Sri Lanka towards the southern tip of India via Malé, to the East African Mombasa, from there to Djibouti, then through the Red Sea via the Suez Canal to the Mediterranean, there via Haifa, Istanbul and Athens to the Upper Adriatic region to the northern Italian hub of Trieste with its international free port and its rail connections to Central Europe and the North Sea.

The China–Pakistan Economic Corridor is an extension to the proposed Silk Road. The Maritime Silk Road coincides with the theory of China's String of Pearls strategy.

History

The Maritime Silk Road initiative was first proposed by Chinese leader Xi Jinping during a speech to the Indonesian Parliament in October 2013.[5]

In November 2014, Chinese leader Xi Jinping announced plans to create a USD $40B development fund, which would help finance China's plans to develop the New Silk Road and the Maritime Silk Road. China has accelerated its drive to draw Africa into the MSR by speedy construction of a modern standard-gauge rail link between Nairobi and Mombasa.[6]

In March 2015, the National Development and Reform Commission of China publicly released a document titled Vision and Actions on Jointly Building Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road,[7] which discusses the principles and framework which form the foundation of the initiative.

Routes and key ports

Although the routes encompassed in the MSR will be copious if the initiative comes to fruition, to date there has not been ample official information released concerning specific ports.

Between 2015 and 2022, China has leased ownership over the following ports:[8]

In the 2018 Xinhua-Baltic International Shipping Centre Development Index Report,[9] the China Economic Information Service cites the following as major routes for the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road:

China – Southeast Asia route

Yangshan Port of Shanghai, China

China – Vietnam, Myanmar

Qinzhou  Yangpu  Zhanjiang  Gaolan Port  Yantian  Nansha  Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam)  Singapore  Yangon (Myanmar)  Palawan (Philippines)  Singapore  Qinzhou.

China – Philippines

Qingdao  Shanghai  Ningbo  Manila (South)  Manila (North)  Qingdao.

Singapore and Malaysia

Container terminals in Kwai Chung, Hong Kong

Newport  Dalian  Qingdao  Shanghai  Xiamen  Hong Kong  Singapore  Klang Port (Malaysia)  Penang (Malaysia)  Singapore  Hong Kong  Xingang.

Indonesia

Shanghai  Newport  Dalian  Qingdao  Ningbo  Nansha  Jakarta (Indonesia)  Klang Port (Malaysia)  Singapore  Laem Chabang Port (Thailand)  Hong Kong  Shanghai.

China – Thailand, Cambodia

Ningbo  Shanghai  Shekou  Sihanoukville (Cambodia)  Bangkok  Leam Chabang (Thailand)  Ningbo.

China – South Asia route

China – Pakistan

Qingdao  Shanghai  Ningbo  Singapore  Klang Port (Malaysia)  Karachi (Pakistan)  Mundra (India)  Colombo (Sri Lanka)  Singapore  Qingdao.

India, Sri Lanka

Shanghai  Ningbo  Shekou  Singapore  Port Klang (Malaysia)  Kolkata (India)  Pipavav (India)  Colombo (Sri Lanka)  Port Klang  Singapore  Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam)  Hong Kong  Shanghai.

Middle East, East Africa route

China – Iraq, UAE

Shanghai  Ningbo  Kaohsiung  Xiamen  Shekou  Port Klang (Malaysia)  Alishan Port (UAE)  Umm Qasr (Iraq)  Port Klang  Kaohsiung  Shanghai.

China – Red Sea

Shanghai  Ningbo  Xiamen  Chiwan  Singapore  Djibouti (East Africa)  Jeddah (Saudi Arabia)  Sudan (Sudan)  Djibouti  Port Klang  Shanghai.

Europe route

Container ship transiting the Suez Canal

The MSR route to Europe will begin in China, pass through the Malacca Strait, follow Red Sea through the Suez Canal to the Mediterranean Sea, and visit ports in Greece, Italy, France, and Spain before returning to China. The Maritime Silk Road has also an important role in the connection between East Africa and the Mediterranean region through the Suez Canal. Of particular interest to China is the port of Piraeus in Athens, Greece, which Chinese Premier Li Keqiang stated "...can become China's gateway to Europe. It is the pearl of the Mediterranean. " China is investing heavily in Athens in the port and infrastructure.[10][11]

The Chinese Silk Road Initiative then led Europe to consider adapting the infrastructure to changing conditions. In recent years there have been major investments from Italy, the EU, Germany and Hungary to develop Trieste with its rail connections to Central and Eastern Europe as a central European hub of the Maritime Silk Road. This also applies to the partial relocation of the flow of goods from the northern ports to the Mediterranean.[12][13][14][15][16][17]

Port of Trieste
Port of Valencia

There are extensive intra-European infrastructure projects in place to adapt trade flows to current needs. This applies, for example, to the expansion of the Belgrade-Budapest railway line, the Brenner Base Tunnel and the connections on the Adriatic-Baltic and Adriatic-North Sea axes. With regard to costs and environmental protection, in contrast to longer East Asian traffic via northwest Europe, the sea route through the Suez Canal to the Adriatic bridgehead of Trieste with its free trade zone shortens the transport of goods to Central and Eastern Europe by at least four days.[18][19]

Experimental attempts are also being made to organize the movement of goods from China to Europe via the Northeast Passage through the polar sea. There is already resistance from environmental protection organizations who fear significant interference in the sensitive ecosystems in the north.[20]

One of the most important ports in the Mediterranean is Valencia, Spain. The port, in which many Chinese companies have settled, is to be provided with a free trade zone.[21]

Qingdao  Shanghai  Ningbo  Kaohsiung  Hong Kong  Yantian  Singapore  Piraeus (Greece)  Trieste (Italy)  La Spezia (Italy)  Genoa (Italy)  Fos-sur-Mer (France)  Valencia (Spain)  Piraeus (Greece)  Jeddah (Saudi Arabia)  Colombo (Sri Lanka)  Singapore  Hong Kong

Challenges

There exist a number of unresolved territorial disputes in the South China Sea between China and ASEAN countries such as Brunei, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam.[8] Potential routes proposed for the MSR could contribute to increasing tensions over certain areas. However, some academics propose that the MSR initiative will provide a means for China to resolve these sovereignty-related conflicts by providing an opportunity for mutual gain.[22]

It has been suggested that the future of the MSR will be largely dictated by the economic conditions of the participating countries.[23] The possibility exists that China may have to make financial contributions to other MSR countries who are experiencing poor economic conditions. China will need to ensure that any loans allocated to these countries are spent appropriately.[24]

Coordination on the national and subnational levels may be challenging for China. It has been stated that China's subnational actors  such as multinational corporations, provinces, cities, and towns  have a tendency to strongly prioritize their own interests above those of the nation and participate in government initiatives primarily to satisfy their own objectives. This could lead to inappropriate spending on projects outside the scope of China's national interests.[25]

Gaining political approval from countries with different political systems could prove problematic for China. Countries may be wary about joining the MSR initiative due to geopolitical and security factors.[26]

Concerns have been put forth regarding whether China will be able to receive India's cooperation and participating in bringing the initiative to fruition.[27][28][23] India represents a strong economic force and may likely prefer to develop the Indian Ocean region's infrastructure itself rather than allow China to have any control over the region.[27] While Chinese investment in India's underdeveloped maritime infrastructure could benefit India's economy greatly, India remains wary to accept such investment as the possibility exists that China is primarily attempting to expand its own territorial and economic interests.[29] India has also expressed circumspection in participating in a similar initiative, the Bangladesh  China  India  Myanmar economic corridor.[23]

See also

References

  1. Kuo, Lily; Kommenda, Niko. "What is China's Belt and Road Initiative?". the Guardian. Retrieved 2019-04-02.
  2. "Sri Lanka Supports China's Initiative of a 21st Century Maritime Silk Route". 2015-05-11. Archived from the original on 2015-05-11. Retrieved 2019-04-02.
  3. Tiezzi, Shannon. "China Pushes 'Maritime Silk Road' in South, Southeast Asia". The Diplomat. Retrieved 2019-04-02.
  4. "Reflections on Maritime Partnership: Building the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road_China Institute of International Studies". www.ciis.org.cn. Archived from the original on 2015-04-03. Retrieved 2019-04-02.
  5. "Full text of President Xi's speech at opening of Belt and Road forum". www.fmprc.gov.cn. Retrieved 2019-04-02.
  6. Page, Jeremy (2014-11-08). "China to Contribute $40 Billion to Silk Road Fund". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2019-04-02.
  7. "Vision and Actions on Jointly Building Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road". National Development and Reform Commission (NRDC) People's Republic of China. 28 March 2015. Archived from the original on 27 November 2018. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
  8. 1 2 "THE 21ST CENTURY MARITIME SILK ROAD: Security implications and ways forward for the European Union" (PDF). sipri.org. 30 March 2019.
  9. "Xinhua-Baltic 2018 International Shipping Centre Development Index Report" (PDF). safety4sea.com. 29 March 2019.
  10. Chaziza, Mordechai (2018). "The Chinese Maritime Silk Road Initiative". Mediterranean Quarterly. 29 (2): 54–69. doi:10.1215/10474552-6898099. S2CID 158529092.
  11. Harry G. Broadman "Afrika´s Silk Road" (2007), pp 59.
  12. Marcus Hernig: Die Renaissance der Seidenstraße (2018) pp 112.
  13. Harry de Wilt: Is One Belt, One Road a China crisis for North Sea main ports? in World Cargo News, 17. December 2019.
  14. Linda Vierecke, Elisabetta Galla "Triest und die neue Seidenstraße" In: Deutsche Welle, 8 December 2020.
  15. Bernhard Simon: Can The New Silk Road Compete With The Maritime Silk Road? in The Maritime Executive, 1 January 2020.
  16. "Trieste, ex Aquila venduta all'ungherese Adria Port" In: Il Piccolo, 18.12.2020
  17. "Hamburger Hafenkonzern investiert groß in Triest" In: Die Presse 29 September 2020; Thomas Fromm "Hanseatische Seidenstraße" In: Süddeutsche Zeitung 5 October 2020; "Logistica, il colosso Duisport acquisisce il 15% delle quote dell'Interporto di Trieste" In: Il Piccolo, 15 December 2020
  18. Gerald Pohl: Neue Seidenstraße: China drängt es nach Europa in: Die Presse 17. September 2019; Hafen Triest auf Wachstumskurs: Neue Bahnverbindung nach Rostock. In: Der Trend, 17. October 2018; Frank Behling: Hafenzug Kiel–Triest. Von der Förde ans Mittelmeer. In Kieler Nachrichten: 25. January 2017.
  19. Harry de Wilt: Is One Belt, One Road a China crisis for North Sea main ports? in World Cargo News, 17. December 2019.
  20. Birger Nicolai "Im Winter durchs Eismeer? Das geht und hat Vorteile" Die Welt 13.7.2018
  21. Anja Steinbuch, Jürgen Hoffmann "Was bringt Chinas Neue Seidenstraße?" In: Deutsche Welle 17.11.2017
  22. Hui-yi, Katherine Tseng (2016-06-16). "Re-contemplating the South China Sea Issue: Sailing with the Wind of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road". The Chinese Journal of Global Governance. 2 (1): 63–95. doi:10.1163/23525207-12340016. ISSN 2352-5207.
  23. 1 2 3 Blanchard, J.-M. F. (2017). "Probing China's Twenty-First-Century Maritime Silk Road Initiative (MSRI): An Examination of MSRI Narratives". Geopolitics. 22 (2): 246–268. doi:10.1080/14650045.2016.1267147. S2CID 152063288.
  24. Ibid.
  25. Ibid
  26. Ibid.
  27. 1 2 Knowledge, CKGSB. "Mapping China's New Silk Road Initiative". Forbes. Retrieved 2019-04-03.
  28. J. Yang, ‘Making the Maritime Silk Road a New Promoter of Cooperative Interaction between China and South Asia’, Keynote Speech given at the “Political Economy of China’s Maritime Silk Road and South Asia” conference, 21 Nov. 2015, Shanghai, China.
  29. Palit, Amitendu (2017-04-03). "India's Economic and Strategic Perceptions of China's Maritime Silk Road Initiative". Geopolitics. 22 (2): 292–309. doi:10.1080/14650045.2016.1274305. ISSN 1465-0045. S2CID 157911700.
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