CHINA- INDIAN OCEAN FORUM - INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
News: India
is the lone absentee at China’s Indian Ocean forum of 19 countries
What's in the news?
● China
this week convened a first “China-Indian Ocean Region Forum” bringing together 19 countries from the region – and all
of India’s neighbours, except for India itself, the lone absentee from a new
Beijing strategic initiative.
China - Indian Ocean Region Forum:
● The
forum, held in Kunming in southwestern Yunnan province on November 21 for the first time on the development of Indian Ocean
Island countries to build consensus and synergy, and promote common
development.
Members:
● It
was attended by the representatives of 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.
Conducted by:
● China International
Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA).
● The
CIDCA is China’s new development aid agency, and is currently headed by former
Vice Foreign Minister Luo Zhaohui, who also earlier served as envoy to India
and Pakistan.
Key takeaways:
Marine disaster prevention:
● At
CIDCA’s Kunming forum, China proposed to establish a marine disaster prevention
and mitigation cooperation mechanism between China and countries in the Indian
Ocean region, and stood ready to provide necessary financial, material, and
technical support to countries in need.
BLUE ECONOMY THINK TANK:
● China
also proposed the establishment of a blue economy think tank network for China
and countries in the Indian Ocean region with the support of Yunnan.
Cooperation:
● The
participating countries, the statement said, agreed to cooperate to “strengthen
policy coordination, deepen development cooperation, increase resilience to
shocks and disasters, and enhance relevant countries’ capacity to obtain
economic benefits through use of marine resources such as fisheries, renewable
energy, tourism, and shipping in a sustainable way.
● China,
which has set up a China-Africa
Satellite Remote Sensing Application Centre, also called for countries “to
jointly address non-traditional security challenges and participate in global
development cooperation, so as to forge a united, equal, balanced and inclusive
global development partnership.”