The paper examined the roles of India, the USA, Japan and Australia, each bilaterally and thru the Quadrilateral partnership (Quad), in driving port infrastructure growth and enhancing delivery connectivity within the Bay of Bengal (BoB) area.
Ports are the entry and exit factors for worldwide commerce and play an essential position within the financial and social growth of nations. Globally, greater than 80% of merchandise commerce is transported by way of seaports (Humphreys, 2023).
Roughly 30% of world commerce flows are dealt with by ports within the BoB area, together with Colombo (Sri Lanka), Chennai (India), and Chattogram (Bangladesh).
The paper goals to contribute to coverage discussions on India and the Quad's position in BoB port growth in 3 ways: it highlights country-specific port challenges, explores India's motivations for regional port investments, and proposes a framework for efficient cooperation between India and the Quad international locations. The latter addresses a key hole within the present literature, as Quad companions proceed to form their collective method.
The BoB is a focus for international provide chains and geopolitical competitors. Regardless of its significance as a maritime commerce hub, its port infrastructure stays underdeveloped relative to evolving international provide chain calls for. Challenges in port infrastructure and connectivity within the BoB area embody infrastructure deficits, diverse governance fashions, outdated effectivity parameters, lack of digitisation, and rising geopolitical competitors. India's engagement within the growth of port infrastructure within the BoB is pushed by a mixture of financial and geostrategic elements.India has expanded its investments in each home and regional port infrastructure, specializing in effectivity enhancements, logistics integration, and the development of latest ports and terminals. These efforts are formed by a mixture of financial imperatives and geostrategic concerns. On the similar time, the Quad has recognised the significance of supporting sustainable and resilient port infrastructure growth throughout the Indo-Pacific. The paper highlighted the urgent want for enhanced port growth and connectivity and proposes a strategic framework to evaluate alternatives and dangers for India to work inside the Quad framework.
It offered three approaches for India–Quad cooperation and identifies the benefits and limitations of every kind of engagement. India maintains its standing as the popular growth accomplice by specializing in direct partnerships inside its rapid neighbourhood. This enables India to tailor infrastructure initiatives to its particular wants and safety issues, making certain alignment with nationwide pursuits. Nonetheless, this method limits entry to the Quad's sources, experience, and funding, probably inflicting delays in challenge execution.
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