‘Illegal, Unacceptable’: India Opposes Pakistan and China’s Move to Involve Third Parties in CPEC
The Wire Staff
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New Delhi: The ministry of external affairs (MEA) on Tuesday, July 26 said that reports about participation of third countries in China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects have been seen by the government and "any such actions directly infringe on India's sovereignty and territorial integrity."
"India firmly and consistently opposes projects in the so-called CPEC, which are in Indian territory that has been illegally occupied by Pakistan," MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said.
"Such activities are inherently illegal, illegitimate and unacceptable, and will be treated accordingly by India,” he further said.
In a virtual meeting held on July 22, Pakistan and China have welcomed "interested" third countries to join the multi-billion dollar CPEC, saying it was "an open and inclusive platform" for mutually beneficial cooperation.
This was the third meeting of the CPEC Joint Working Group on International Cooperation and Coordination (JWG-ICC). It was co-chaired by assistant foreign minister Wu Jianghao and Pakistani foreign secretary Sohail Mahmood, and attended by representatives from relevant departments of the two countries.
Also read: The Political Economics of the International North-South Transport Corridor
Launched in 2013, the CPEC is a corridor linking Pakistan's Gwadar port on the Arabian Sea with Kashgar in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, which highlights energy, transport and industrial cooperation.
India has protested to China over the CPEC as it is being laid through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). The CPEC is a $60 billion flagship project of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) of the Chinese government and promoted by President Xi Jinping.
Many Western think tanks and commentators have termed the CPEC an economic debt trap.
A case study of the CPEC on Research Gate, for instance, talks about how the weak economic indicators of Pakistan might lead to a possibility of the country defaulting on debt repayments, as Chinese loans have high interest rates. However, strong support of the Pakistani government is keeping the CPEC project intact despite worries of Chinese debt traps.
It further highlighted the geostrategic importance of Pakistan for China, which means more than just bilateral trade relations.
(With PTI inputs)
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