India flays Pak-China bid to seek partners for CPEC

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New Delhi, July 26

India today criticised a bid by Beijing and Islamabad to include third countries in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), saying that “any such action by any party directly infringes on India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity”.

Infringes on our sovereignty

Any such action by any party directly infringes on India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. Arindam Bagchi, MEA Spokesperson

Pakistan and China had sought the participation of “interested third parties” during a meeting on the CPEC project, co-chaired by Pakistan Foreign Secretary Sohail Mahmood and Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Wu Jianghao on July 21.

India opposes the CPEC as it passes through the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), which is an illegally occupied Indian territory. A Pakistan foreign office release after the meeting described the CPEC as “an open and inclusive platform” which “welcomed interested third parties to benefit from avenues for mutually beneficial cooperation opened up by the CPEC”.

MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said India had seen reports on the two countries encouraging the proposed participation of third countries in the “so-called CPEC projects”. He said “any such action by any party directly infringes on India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity”. This is not the first time that Pakistan has solicited third-party investments for the CPEC. Its earlier bid to reach out to Saudi Arabia and the UAE did not yield results.

“India firmly and consistently opposes projects in the so-called CPEC, which are in the Indian territory that has been illegally occupied by Pakistan. Such activities are inherently illegal, illegitimate and unacceptable, and will be treated accordingly by India,” said Bagchi while replying to questions on the July 21 meeting, which also considered the CPEC’s “expansion to jointly agreed priority areas”. Besides India’s opposition on grounds of violation of its sovereignty, the CPEC has been criticised for exploiting Pakistan’s natural resources without commensurate benefits to local communities.