THE HINDU Editorial Vocabulary- November 17, 2016- Topic 2
A year and a half after China and Pakistan announced
plans for an Economic Corridor, the CPEC, to connect “Kashgar to Gwadar”, the two countries operationalised the trade
route this week, with the first shipment moving to Gwadar port and on to the
Gulf and Africa. Many of the infrastructure and energy projects that are part
of CPEC, worth an estimated $46 billion, are already under way. Of this, $35-38
billion is committed in the energy sector, in gas, coal and solar energy across
Pakistan, with the combined expected capacity crossing 10,000 MW. This is
roughly double the current shortfall the country experiences. In addition, the
3,000-km rail and roadway project is expected to generate 700,000 jobs by 2030.
While Pakistan sees CPEC as a game changer, there are many challenges. There
are some misgivings domestically, with critics questioning the project’s
viability, and some accusing China of launching a second “East India Company”.
There are the security challenges too, especially in the western areas near the
key Gwadar port, where militants ranging from Baloch nationalists to the
Taliban and the Islamic State have carried out attacks. Systemic challenges
include project delays in the CPEC’s first year, which the World Bank warns
could prove to be an impediment to Pakistan’s overall growth. Pakistan-India
tensions, unless contained, too could endanger sectors of the project where
Pakistani troops are engaged in providing security. Finally, the economic
slowdown in China and the political instability in Pakistan could impact the
project’s future as well.
However, these internal considerations for
Pakistan shouldn’t blur the bigger picture for India:
CPEC is now a reality. In the past India’s reaction to the project, announced a
few weeks before Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to China in 2015, had
turned from dismissal and disdain to disapproval and then to outright
opposition. India even raised concerns over projects in disputed
Gilgit-Baltistan at the UN General Assembly. Not only has the project gone
ahead despite the objections, but China now sees CPEC as a physical link
between its One Belt, One Road (OBOR) project and the Maritime Silk Route
(MSR). India has refused to be a part of either. That Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and
Afghanistan are all on board the OBOR and the MSR should give India pause. It
is important for Delhi to also take a closer look at the security implications
of the China-Pakistan clinch that is fast drawing in Russia in the north, all
the way to the Arabian Sea, while China plans a floating naval base off Gwadar.
Vocabulary
Misgiving: a feeling of doubt or apprehension about the outcome or
consequences of something.
Example: We have misgivings about the way the campaign is being run
Synonyms: qualm, doubt, reservation, suspicion, distrust, mistrust
Impediment: a hindrance or obstruction in
doing something.
Example: A serious impediment to scientific progress
Synonyms: hindrance, obstruction, obstacle, barrier, bar, block, handicap
Instability: lack of stability; the state
of being unstable.
Example: Political and economic instability
Synonyms: unreliability, uncertainty, unpredictability, insecurity, riskiness
Blur: a thing that cannot be seen or heard clearly.
Example: The pale blur of her face
Synonyms: indistinct shape, smudge, haze, cloud, mist
Disdain: the feeling that someone or something is unworthy of
one's consideration or respect; contempt.
Example: Her upper lip curled in disdain
Synonyms: contempt, scorn, scornfulness, contemptuousness, derision
Clinch: confirm or settle (a contract or bargain).
Example: To clinch a business deal
Synonyms: secure, settle, conclude, close, pull off, bring
off, complete
Endanger: put (someone or something) at risk or in danger.
Example: He was driving in a manner likely to endanger life
Synonyms: imperil, jeopardize, risk, put at risk, put in
danger, expose to danger
Dismissal: the act of ordering or allowing someone to leave.
Example: Their controversial dismissal from the competition
Synonyms: termination, discharge, one's notice, redundancy, laying
off, the sac
Outright: open and direct; not concealed.
Example: An outright refusal
Synonyms: out-and-out, absolute, complete, downright, utter, sheer