Australia, US, Japan and India reportedly in talks for BRI alternative
(22 February 2018 – Global) Media reports suggest Australia, India, the US and Japan are in discussions to create a regional infrastructure project as an alternative to China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), previously known as One Belt One Road.
According to the Australian Financial Review (AFR), a US official said the plan of the four nations was still "nascent" and "won't be ripe enough to be announced during the Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's US visit this week".
India recently objected to One Belt One Road (OBOR), saying that the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) violates its sovereignty. In 2017, India had skipped China's OBOR summit held in Beijing.
Following India's objections, many countries, including the US, have come out openly against China's OBOR.
"No one is saying China should not build infrastructure," the AFR reported the official as saying.
"China might build a port which, on its own is not economically viable. We could make it economically viable by building a road or rail line linking that port".
Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said that China was the largest trading partner for Australia and OBOR was one option whereby nations could access funds for critical infrastructure.
"Australian government is acutely aware that we need significant investment in infrastructure, particularly in our region in the Indo-Pacific and One Belt, One Road is one option whereby nations can access more funds for critical infrastructure,'' she said.
"It's early days for the One Belt, One Road initiative, and we are obviously monitoring it closely. We are already working with China on a development project in Papua New Guinea, so we hope that we will be able to work more closely with China in driving economic, sustainable economic growth in our region," she said.
"Our concerns are to ensure that Pacific nations are not burdened with debt they cannot repay, that all transactions are transparent and that there is an appropriate level of governance. So we hope to work with China to ensure that infrastructure in our part of the world, particularly in the Pacific, adds to the sustainable economic growth of those countries," she said.
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