India And Japan To Counter China’s OBOR Initiative With Asia-Africa Connectivity Project

India and Japan, two of China’s Asian rivals, are set to counter its One Belt, One Road (OBOR) initiative through a connectivity project of their own, Business Standard has reported. The two countries will work together to bring the Indian Ocean Region and the African continent closer through an Asia-Africa connectivity project, stretching from Japan to Africa via the Indian Ocean.

Discussions about the project were held when Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe met for their annual summit at Tokyo last November. Also, Modi’s visit to the African continent in 2016 focused extensively on maritime cooperation.

Both India and Japan have been reluctant to join the OBOR initiative, one that is heavily dominated by China and focuses entirely on Chinese interests. India has categorically rejected the scheme, saying that it lacks the core features of a connectivity project that should be based on common understanding and collective interest.

The project will potentially rival China’s Maritime Silk Road, a part of the OBOR that will connect ports and dual-use maritime facilities constructed by China with the sole aim of dominating the Indo-Pasafic and the wider Indian Ocean.

It will be launched at the upcoming annual meeting of the African Development Bank to be held at Ahmedabad from 22 May. However, according to the Business Standards, the programme is in early stage and is at least a year from being committed to by the countries concerned.