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China keen to join Mekong-Ganga Cooperation |
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China has shown interest in joining the Mekong-Ganga Cooperation (MGC) and the Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand-Economic Cooperation (BIMST-EC) groupings. China’s interest in becoming part of these two regional cooperation groupings has been displayed through select member nations of the two organisations - in both of whom India is a leading player. It is likely that in the run-up to the second ministerial meeting of MGC countries (which brings together Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and India) or at the ministerial meeting itself the issue of China joining in could be raised. Given the fact that China, as a Mekong country, was excluded when the MGC was launched in Vientiane in November 2000, some member countries may argue that the Chinese have a good case to cooperate in the grouping which aims at the promotion of cultural tourism, human resource and transportation links. It appears unlikely that India will be warm to the idea of China joining the MGC or even BIMST-EC. New Delhi, of course, has said that the MGC was not a grouping which was directed at any other country. But the exclusion of China as a Mekong country was noted by observers in the region. For their part, the Chinese had opposed the enlargement of the ASEAN+3 (China, Japan and Korea) grouping by arguing that India did not figure in the geographical sweep of such a cooperative endeavour. l
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