A small town on Sri Lanka’s southern coast has become something of a global lighthouse. Sitting in the Indian Ocean, Hambantota serves as a warning about the hazards of China’s global infrastructure push, which could make small economies dependent even while helping them develop. It also reveals the challenges that India, Japan and others, including the United States, face in mounting an effective response.
CSIS Reconnecting Asia Director Jonathan Hillman testifies before the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission for a hearing on “China’s Belt and Road Initiative: Five Years Later.”
Chinese contractors are receiving the lion’s share of Belt and Road opportunities reports the Financial Times, citing data from Reconnecting Asia.
In pursuit of a robust strategic partnership, India and Japan are broadcasting their desire to work together far beyond South Asia, with an emphasis on Africa. Their vision for an Asia-Africa Growth Corridor (AAGC) lacks detail, but still offers an opportunity to raise both countries’ profile in a strategic continent. To compete with China’s presence there, however, India and Japan will have to show that they are committed to the continent and that they can deliver not just on quality but also on speed.
Kazakhstan is a major partner in China’s multibillion-dollar “New Silk Road” project, but this new documentary by Radio Free Europe shows that their mutual cooperation does not come without some challenges.