Gulbin Sultana replies: The Trincomalee Oil Tank Farm, also known as the China Bay Oil Tank Farm, was built by the British in the 1930s to supply fuel to Royal Navy ships during the Second World War. The British continued to control the oil farm comprising 99 tanks until the Sri Lankan Government took it over in 1957. Each of the existing 99 tanks can contain 12,000 tonnes of fuel.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s visit underlines the fact that India and Bangladesh are successfully leveraging their geographical location to advance mutually beneficial economic ties.
India and Australia need to take a leadership role in maritime security affairs in the two oceans and have deeper engagements with the Pacific and Indian Ocean island countries.
Ashok Kumar Behuria replies: The term 'neoliberalism' has an economic refrain. It advocates a free market, laissez-faire economy. In international relations, neoliberal institutionalism has a slightly modified tenor that lays emphasis on economic interdependence which has been a marked feature of international politics in the post-Cold War period. Such interdependence leads to inter-connectedness and linkage that ensures peace and reduces the probability of conflict between states.
In the beginning of the second week of February 2019, Ladakh became the third division within Jammu and Kashmir to be demarcated as a separate administrative and revenue division, with Jammu division and Kashmir being the other two.
Udai Bhanu Singh replies: China-Myanmar Economic Corridor (CMEC) has been touted as a flagship project of Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in Myanmar. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) to establish CMEC was signed between the two countries in September 2018.
Jagannath P. Panda replies:Operationally, both the AIIB and the New Development Bank (NDB) of the BRICS differ from each other in their structure and functionality. Both are yet to evolve as credible international banks. Their membership composition, areas of focus, structures, and operational and financing patterns make them different from each other.
China’s Response to Indo-Pacific Economic Framework
Beijing’s pushback against the Washington-backed Indo-Pacific Economic Framework is likely to result in an intense regional geo-economic competition.