User:Codycolbert11/sandbox

Response to Peer Review
In response to Joshua Murphy's peer review of my article, I made the following adjustments/additions:


 * The phrase "put a damper" was changed to "reduced" to make is less idiomatic.
 * Joshua suggested that I expand on my clause about China's subnational actors in the "Challenges" section. I could not find any specific subnational actors in the literature, as the literature often spoke of subnational actors collectively as a group. I added a sentence further specifying these actors to be MNCs, provinces, cities, and regions and the governments within those regions.

Draft Article Summary

 * Added to the History section
 * Created a section dedicated to briefing the challenges that China may face in implementing the MSR initiative.
 * Edited and improved existing references and added new references

= 21st Century Maritime Silk Road (Draft Article) = From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about the Chinese government initiative. For other uses, see Maritime Silk Road (disambiguation).

The 21st Century Maritime Silk Road (Chinese: 21世纪海上丝绸之路), commonly just Maritime Silk Road or MSR, is the sea route part of the Belt and Road Initiative which is a Chinese strategic initiative to increase investment and foster collaboration across the historic Silk Road. The China–Pakistan Economic Corridor is an extension to the proposed Silk Road. The Maritime Silk Road coincides with the theory of China's String of Pearls strategy.

History
The Maritime Silk Road initiative was first proposed by Chinese paramount leader Xi Jinping during a speech to the Indonesian Parliament in October 2013.

In November 2014, Chinese leader Xi Jinping announced plans to create a USD $40B development fund, which would help finance China's plans to develop the New Silk Road and the Maritime Silk Road. China has accelerated its drive to draw Africa into the MSR by speedy construction of a modern standard-gauge rail link between Nairobi and Mombasa.

In March 2015, the National Development and Reform Commission of the People's Republic of China publicly released a document titled Vision and Actions on Jointly Building Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road, which discusses the principles and framework which form the foundation of the initiative.

Routes and Key Ports
Although the routes encompassed in the MSR will be copious if the initiative comes to fruition, to date there has not been ample official information released concerning specific ports.

Between 2015 and 2017, China has leased ownership over the following ports:


 * Gwadar, Pakistan: 40 years
 * Kyaukpyu, Myanmar: 50 years
 * Kuantan, Malaysia: 60 years
 * Obock, Djibouti: 10 years
 * Malacca Gateway: 99 Years
 * Hambantota, Sri Lanka: 99 years
 * Muara, Brunei: 60 years
 * Feydhoo Finolhu, Maldives: 50 years

In the 2018 Xinhua-Baltic International Shipping Centre Development Index Report , the China Economic Information Service cites the following as major routes for the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road:

China-Vietnam, Myanmar
Qinzhou - Yangpu - Zhanjiang - Gaolan Port - Yantian - Nansha - Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam) - Singapore - Yangon (Myanmar) - Palawan (Indonesia) - Singapore - Qinzhou.

China-Phillipines
Qingdao - Shanghai - Ningbo - Manila (South) - Manila (North) - Qingdao.

Singapore, Malaysia
Newport - Dalian - Qingdao - Shanghai - Xiamen - Hong Kong - Singapore - Klang Port (Malaysia) - Penang (Malaysia) - Singapore - Hong Kong - Xingang.

Indonesia
Shanghai - Newport - Dalian - Qingdao - Ningbo - Nansha - Jakarta (Indonesia) - Klang Port (Malaysia) - Singapore - Laem Chabang Port (Thailand) - Hong Kong - Shanghai.

China-Thailand, Cambodia
Ningbo - Shanghai - Shekou - Sihanoukville (Cambodia) - Bangkok - Leam Chabang (Thailand) - Ningbo.

China-Pakistan
Qingdao - Shanghai - Ningbo - Singapore - Klang Port (Malaysia) - Karachi (Pakistan) - Mundra (India) - Colombo (Sri Lanka) - Singapore - Qingdao.

India, Sri Lanka
Shanghai - Ningbo - Shekou - Singapore - Port Klang (Malaysia) - Nawa Shiva (India) - Pipavav (India) - Colombo (Sri Lanka) - Port Klang - Singapore - Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam) - Hong Kong - Shanghai.

China-Iraq, UAE
Shanghai - Ningbo - Kaohsiung - Xiamen - Shekou - Port Klang (Malaysia) - Alishan Port (UAE) - Umm Qasr (Iraq) - Port Klang - Kaohsiung - Shanghai.

China-Red Sea
Shanghai - Ningbo - Xiamen - Chiwan - Singapore - Djibouti (East Africa) - Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) - Sudan (Sudan) - Djibouti - Port Klang - Shanghai.

Europe Route
The MSR route to Europe will begin in China, pass through the Malacca Strait, follow Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea, and visit ports in Greece, Italy, France, and Spain before returning to China. Of particular interest to China is the port of Piraeus in Greece, which Chinese Premier Li Keqiang stated "...can become China's gateway to Europe. It is the pearl of the Mediterranean."

Qingdao — Shanghai — Ningbo — Kaohsiung — Hong Kong —Yantian — Singapore — Piraeus ( Greece)—La Spezia (Italy) —Genoa (Italy)—Fos-sur-Mer (France) —Valencia (Spain)— Piraeus (Greece)—Jeddah (Saudi Arabia)— Colombo (Sri Lanka)— Singapore — Hong Kong

Challenges
There exists a number of unresolved territorial disputes in the South China Sea between China and ASEAN countries such as Brunei, Taiwan, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam. Potential routes proposed for the MSR could contribute to increasing tensions over certain areas. However, some academics propose that the MSR initiative will provide a means for China to resolve these sovereignty-related conflicts by providing an opportunity for mutual gain.

It has been suggested that the future of the MSR will be largely dictated by the economic conditions of the participating countries. The possibility exists that China may have to make financial contributions to other MSR countries who are experiencing poor economic conditions. China will need to exercise prudent caution in ensuring that any loans that are allocated to these countries be spent appropriately.

Coordination on the national and subnational levels may be challenging for China. It has been stated that China's subnational actors - such as multinational corporations, provinces, cities, and towns - have a tendency to strongly prioritize their own interests above those of the nation and participate in government initiatives primarily to satisfy their own objectives. This could lead to inappropriate spending on projects outside the scope of China's national interests.

Gaining political approval from countries with different political systems could prove problematic for China. Countries may be weary about joining the MSR initiative due to geopolitical and security factors.

Concerns have been put forth regarding whether China will be able to receive India's cooperation and participating in bringing the initiative to fruition. India represents a strong economic force and may likely prefer to develop the Indian Ocean region's infrastructure itself rather than allowing to have any control over the region. While Chinese investment in India's underdeveloped maritime infrastructure could represent a great benefit to India, India remains wary to accept such investment as the possibility exists that China is primarily attempting to drive its own territorial and economic interests. India has also expressed circumspection in participating in a similar initiative, the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar economic corridor.

Article Evaluation: 21st century Maritime Silk Road
Content
 * The article is largely undeveloped, but what content exists related directly to the topic.
 * No information in this article is distracting or irrelevant to the topic.
 * There seems to be ample room for expansion in the "History" section. The latest edit was made in late 2018.
 * A section could be added to discuss the security issues imposed by the initiative.
 * The talk page has no information outside the proposal to merge the "21st Century Maritime Silk Road" article with other articles such as "One Belt One Road" and "Maritime Silk Road"
 * Most of the sources cited are from 2014 and could be expanded upon. The integrity of the sources is questionable. There are no academic sources present.
 * Some of the sources come from Chinese websites.
 * Sections could be added to discuss the developments in the different regions of the MSR, such as the South China Sea, Strait of Malacca, Indian Ocean, Gulf of Bengal, Arabian Sea, Persian Gulf and the Red Sea