INDIA/CHINA: India seems to have taken issue with the invitation extended by Pakistan and China to allow other third countries to join in and invest in the multi-billion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects- a sub-project of Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi gave a statement saying, “We have seen reports on encouraging proposed participation of third countries in so-called CPEC projects. Any such actions by any party directly infringe on India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
India’s response comes at a crucial time after the third meeting of the CPEC Joint Working Group (JWG) on International Cooperation and Coordination (JWG-ICC) where neighbouring allies Pakistan and China decided to allow third countries to partake in this venture.
As a counterattack to India’s accusation, the Pakistan Foreign Office has issued a statement, “As an open and inclusive platform, both sides welcomed interested third parties to benefit from avenues for mutually beneficial cooperation opened up by CPEC.”
China has consistently defended the CPEC projects, saying it is an economic venture not aimed at any other country.
CPEC comprises a combination of transport and energy projects aimed at the economic corridor from Gwadar in Pakistan to Kashgar in the Chinese region of Xinjiang.
India’s opposition lies in the fact that the CPEC network passes through the highly volatile Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
Bagchi said, “India firmly and consistently opposes projects in the so-called CPEC, which are in Indian territory that has been illegally occupied by Pakistan.” He further commented that such operations are “inherently illegal, illegitimate and unacceptable.”
Originally valued at $47 billion, the value of CPEC projects is worth $62 billion as of 2020, according to the BBC. While there has been no official notification regarding the new investors, a Global Times report on January 16 suggested that Saudi Arabia, UAE and Germany might hop on board.
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