China's Belt and Road Initiative in Central Asia

Since the late 2010s, the concept of the “Indo-Pacific” has been becoming
increasingly significant in the international political arena. In August 2016,
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe proposed a policy of “Free and Open Indo-Pacific” (FOIP) as Japan’s new diplomatic vision at the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) VI held in Kenya. The FOIP strategy was supported by the Donald Trump administration followed by the renaming of the United States Indo-Pacific Command. However, China has viewed the FOIP as a containment strategy against the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The FOIP vision is unclear for general observers, and it might cause a security dilemma with the Chinese BRI. Is it possible for the FOIP vision to coexist with China’s BRI, or are these two strategic visions destined to clash with each other? In an attempt to answer these questions, the article aims to provide multiple perspectives of the FOIP concept by applying international relations (IR) theory. This article warns that the FOIP and the BRI are likely to bring about diplomatic tension that could be escalated into a military skirmish over the territorial dispute. In order to avoid the
possible military clash, it finally seeks to explore possible future pathways of the peaceful coexistence of the two visions in the Indo-Pacific region.

В монографии «Диалог цивилизаций в центральноазиатском ареале Великого Шелкового пути: исторический опыт интеграции и ориентиры XXI века» проведено комплексное исследование роли Великого Шелкового пути в сложении локальных цивилизаций Центральной Азии. В книге исследуются роль древних и средневековых  коммуникаций в сложении этнокультурных традиций народов юга Центральной Азии, культурный диалог вдоль южных трансевразийских путей, значение Великого Шелкового пути в сложении основ традиционной культуры таджиков. Особое внимание в монографии уделяется анализу проектов возрождения Великого Шелкового пути в ХХI веке и диалогу цивилизаций в условиях глобализации.
Книга предназначена для историков, культурологов, искусствоведов, политологов и для всех тех, кто интересуется историей цивилизаций Центральной Азии.
The monograph ‘The Dialogue of civilizations in Central Asian area of the Great Silk Road: the historical experience of integration and the landmarks of the 21st century’ presents the complex research of the role the Great Silk Road played in formation of the local civilizations of Central Asia. There is a role of the ancient and medieval communications in formation of the ethnocultural traditions of people of the South of Central Asia, the cultural dialogue along the southern trans-eurasian routes, the significance of the Great Silk Road in creation of basis for the traditional culture of Tajiks, being researched in the monograph. Special attention is paid to the analysis of revival projects of the Great Silk Road in 21st century and the dialogue of civilizations in terms of globalization.

In this article, we review and discuss Russian and Central Asian views on China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). BRI is considered to be a panacea for multiple problems of China such as the Xinjiang issue, economic slowdown, excess capacity etc. In this context, Chinese principle of non-interference is increasingly questioned as it is hard to separate economical, geopolitical and security dimensions. Russian influence over Central Asia is expected to wane due to BRI projects which may cause Sino-Russian conflicts. On the other hand, Russian isolation after the Ukrainian crisis makes Russia to consider BRI in amicable terms. Central Asian official views on BRI are mostly positive, although local peoples' objections involving social and environmental impacts are noteworthy. Since the region is landlocked, the prospects are high. However, rather than earning transit revenues only, the regional states are in expectation of Chinese investments in other business areas. Central Asia is far from the goal of regional integration. Border disputes, water scarcity, intra-regional mistrust etc. are divisive enough to prevent the region to act in a coordinated manner with regard to BRI. China, on this occasion, appears to be the major force to integrate the region.

The report focuses on analysis of China’s “Belt and Road” Initiative (BRI) and more specifically on the Silk Road Economic Belt (SREB) project, representing the component aiming to build land transport corridors from China through Central Asia (CA) to Europe – and its impact on migration flows and policies in the CA region. The report analyzes the importance of SREB for the land-locked countries in the region, identifies the main migration trends that have developed in the context of the movement of capital, goods, services, and labor force from China; analyzes individual types of migrations by countries. Despite the increasing mobility in the region and the importance of regulating migration, the regional cooperation, including the harmonization of policies and information exchange, is not well established. Systematic research and forecast of the migration processes provoked by SREB/BRI are unavailable.
Доклад посвящен анализу Инициативы Китая «Пояс и Путь» (ИПП) и в частности ее составляющей – проекту «Экономический пояс Шелкового Пути» (ЭПШП) по строительству наземных транспортных коридоров из Китая через Центральную Азию (ЦА) в Европу и ее влиянию на миграционные потоки и политику в регионе ЦА. В докладе анализируется важность ЭПШП для стран региона, которые не имеют выхода к морю, определяются основные миграционные тенденции, которые сложились в контексте движения капиталов, товаров, услуг, рабочей силы из Китая;  анализируются отдельные виды миграций в страновом разрезе. Несмотря на возрастающую мобильность в регионе и важность регулирования миграций, региональное сотрудничество, включая согласование политик и обмен информацией, не налажено в достаточной мере. Системные научные исследования и прогноз миграционных процессов под влиянием ЭПШП/ИПП отсутствуют.

Çin için Afganistan neden önemli? Politikasını belirleyen unsurlar neler? Türkiye'nin Afganistan'da asker bulundurma ihtimaline nasıl bakıyor? Çin Taliban ile uzlaşabilir mi?

Bölgenin süper gücü Çin, ABD ve NATO güçlerinin Afganistan'dan çekilmesini aceleci ve sorumsuzca bulduğunu gizlemiyor ve memnuniyetsizliğini ortaya koyuyor. Bu sırada da aktif bir dış politika güderek, Taliban'ın hızla ilerlediği Afganistan'daki yeni duruma aynı hızla uyum sağlamaya çalışıyor. Haritada Afganistan'a bakıldığında, Asya kıtasının kuzey-güney ve doğu-batı jeopolitik ekseninde yer aldığı hemen göze çarpar. Bu önemli coğrafi konumu da Afganistan'ı hem Asya'daki hem de küresel çaptaki güçlerin kontrol etmek istediği bir alan olarak öne çıkarıyor. Afganistan'ın "büyük oyundaki" kilit taşlarından biri olması, elbette onu Çin'in de ilgi odaklarından biri haline getiriyor.

The Belt and road initiave is one of the mighteist project human race has ever witnessed in recent human history. It is true where the project of such a nature brings economic growth and prosperity on one hand; on the other hand it brings numerous challanges of different kinds and dimensions. The Environmental legal issue are one of those problems which are required to be resolved before it cause serious trouble for the project itself. Hence, this paper will shade light on the aforementiond issue so that the envioronment could be protected and conjointly, the possiblity of legal ligitigation could be curbed. Thereby, there is less room left for any hindrance which could hinder the smooth pace of such an important project.