The Silk Road Journal by Mahika Ming

Any society in the world will be stable if its armed forces are strong to protect it. That will eventually result in social development and increased trade due to surplus production. The ancient Silk Road originally was the trade route which took external goods to Great China and vice versa. With trade developed political ties and since many dignitaries took the same route to meet political leaders down the trade route it was also known as the Envoy Road. As per Chinese Archaeological findings, there are records of approx. 1,400 diplomats who had entered Great China through this network long before the western powers came out in the 1500s. During the Han dynasty in 2nd Century BC, military diplomat General Zhang Qian contributed immensely to connect China with the world and to establish law and order in the Northwestern and Western parts of China. General Zhang was a pioneering diplomat who updated the Emperor with valuable information about Central Asia. His contributions laid the foundation for future trade expansions towards the Persian Empire. It can be considered as the beginning of the global trade network which later became known as the Silk Road. General Zhang is a national hero in China who is revered for opening the country to the world creating wider opportunity for trade. General Zhang’s second mission was to establish a route to India and was again sent on a third mission to further develop ties with Central Aisa.

The 21^st century Silk Road known as the Belt and Road Initiative was inaugurated by the Peoples Republic of China in 2013. In addition to the sea and land routes in the ancient Silk Road the partners are now connected through air and digital links as well. Armed forces of China have never maintained any colonies anywhere in the world throughout history but they always play a key role in protecting China and helping other states to develop their defense skills when ever requested. That in turn helps states to be politically stable and economically prosper. Sri Lankan armed forces have also benefited much from the Chinese forces throughout the decades since independence from British colonial power. The Defence Minster of China General Wei Fenghe arrives in Sri Lanka renewing decades of friendship at a time Sri Lanka is also geared to start a new journey down the modern Silk Road. General Wei was recently honoured by Pakistan for the services he has rendered to strengthen the bond between the two countries especially in armed forces collaboration and its contribution to the development of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor which starts in Central Asia where General Zhang ended his mission. General Wei has worked with senior leaders from Macedonia, Greece, Serbia, Hungary, Mongolia, Russia, Japan, Pakistan, Nepal, Philippines, Brunei, Indonesian, Indian, Vietnamese, the ASEAN region and many other countries.

The writer is an analyst with interests in the financial and sustainable development sectors with postgraduate exposure in the Far East (mahika.ming@gmail.com).