Onboard for regional peace and prosperity

I actually half-thought it could have been a joke when I got the invitation. For it was a “date” jointly organized by important players in the civil societies of China and Japan to go on the Peace Boat for seminars on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) first propounded by China. Having grown up during the years when the replays of the TV series “Giligan’s Island” were all the rage, and being concerned in recent times with the disturbing developments in the East and South China Seas, I hastened to accept the invitation, with a heavy dose of curiosity.

The seabound journey for peace started in Shanghai, where the participants held a pre-boarding seminar to warm up for the frank discussions onboard. We were a diverse group, with representatives from think tanks from across East Asia and Southeast Asia, all coming onboard in search of – hopefully – peace for the Asia Pacific region. It was, indeed, a majestic sight when we first caught a glimpse of the Peace (and Green) Boat berthed at Shanghai’s outlaying harbor.