EASTERN ECONOMIC FORUM

 

For: Mains

Topics covered:

• About the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF)
• New Agreements between India and Russia
• Chennai-Vladivostok Sea link
• What is India’s interest in the EEF?

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News Flash

Recently, the 5th Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) was held in Vladivostok, Pacific port city in Russia.

• For the development of the Far East, India will give a line of credit worth USD 1 billion.
• The participants in the Summit: India, Malaysia, Japan, Australia, and South Korea.

 

Aim

• The forum aims at bringing investment and development to what is known as the Russian Far East.
• It is a region extending between Lake Baikal – world’s largest freshwater lake and deepest lake, and the Pacific Ocean.

 

Highlights

• IAF fighter planes MiG and Sukhoi are built in Russian Far East.
• This region is fast turning into a geo-strategic hotspot with China trying to dominate it.

 

Significance of this region

• This is a region situated in the cold Siberian climate but more significantly, it shares borders with China, Mongolia, North Korea and Japan (maritime).
• On its own, it could be the eight largest – just behind India – in terms of area, and fourth least densely populated country.
• Both China and the US have been competing to have an upper hand in this region.
• Realising its geostrategic significance, India opened a consulate in Vladivostok in 1992. India was the first country to have a resident consulate in Vladivostok then.

 

Vladivostok

• Vladivostok is a major Pacific port city in Russia overlooking Golden Horn Bay, near the borders with China and North Korea.
• It is known as a terminus of the Trans-Siberian Railway.

 

 

Chennai-Vladivostok Sea link

• India and Russia agreed for a sea link between Vladivostok, the capital of Russian Far East and Chennai. This will reduce the transport time from the existing 40 days to 24 days.
• This Vladivostok-Chennai sea link is somewhat a counter to China’s Maritime Silk Route (MSR) plan as part of One Belt One Road project.
• China’s ambitious MSR plan is about establishing and hence directly controlling the Asia-Africa sea route.
• Vladivostok-Chennai shipping link is likely to pass through or very close to the South China Sea, which China has turned into an international geostrategic hotspot by claiming exclusive control over the resource-rich maritime zone in the Pacific Ocean.
• Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have counter claims over the sea.

 

Alternate

• There is an alternate possibility as well that Vladivostok-Chennai link would become an extension of existing India-Japan Pacific to Indian Ocean Corridor, which China considers as a challenge to its maritime OBOR plan in the region.

 

What is Eastern Economic Forum?

The Eastern Economic Forum was established by decree of the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin in 2015 to support the economic development of Russia’s Far East and to expand international cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region.

 

What is India’s interest in the EEF?

• Russian Far East is a resource-rich region in a hostile climate. It is rich in oil, natural gas, timber, gold and diamond among other resources.
• An area of special interest for India is the exploration of hydrocarbon reserves along the coast of Russia’s Far East.
• India is interested in expanding the level of trade between the two countries.
• EEF to give new impetus to the cooperation between India and Russia. India is a key customer of the Russian arms industry.
• In March, India entered into a joint venture with Russia to manufacture the legendary Kalashnikov assault rifles in India.
• In 2018, Russia sold the S-400 advanced air defence system to India.

 

Source: India Today