Japan proposed an alternative route to the Suez Canal
You may be aware that in April 2021, a container ship named ‘Ever Given’ closed the route to the Suez Canal, affecting the movement of more than 400 Due to which global trade lost $ 9 billion. This incident has since come to be called ‘Suez Canal Blockade’.
Japan was so affected by this incident due to the weaknesses of the Suez route that it has now explored the options of possible routes for its trade.
Alternatives of Suez Canal
- Japan has mainly chosen two routes to Russia among its possible options, one is the Trans-Siberian Railway and the other is the Northern Sea Route.
- In May 2018, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the “Executive Order on National Goals and Strategic Objectives of the Russian Federation”.
- It is known that due to melting of Arctic ice, a viable route of Northern Seaway is being created. However icebreakers are required on these routes between June and December.
- Now Japan is commissioning its merchant ships through the region. However, before this, in the year 2020, more than 133 Japanese ships had traveled through this route informally, where as in 2019, only 87 ships were passed.
- In addition to sea routes, Japan is also trying to use the Trans Siberian Railway.
Trans Siberian Railway
- It is a network of Russian railways that connects western Russia to eastern Russia. It starts from Moscow and ends at Vladivostok. Vladivostok is close to the North Korea-Russia border.
Source – The Hindu
