India on Tuesday said that participation of any third country in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects will be considered illegitimate.
India said that it views such participation as unacceptable since the projects are being undertaken in areas where Pakistan has illegally occupied Indian territory.
India said that if any country decides to participate in these projects, their actions will be in direct infringement of India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The spokesperson for the ministry of external affairs Arindam Bagchi said: “We have seen reports encouraging a 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 firmly and consistently opposes projects in the so-called CPEC, which are in Indian territory that has been illegally occupied by Pakistan. Such activities are inherently illegal, illegitimate and unacceptable, and will be treated accordingly by India,” Bagchi was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
The remarks from the external affairs ministry comes after China and Pakistan decided to welcome “interested” third countries in the CPEC project which is opposed by India as well as some sections of Pakistani society.
Many Western countries and their experts view the CPEC as an economic debt trap tool used by China to hold member nations’ sovereignty hostage.
On July 23, the Pakistani and Chinese officials associated with the CPEC held the 3rd meeting of the CPEC Joint Working Group (JWG) on International Cooperation and Coordination (JWG-ICC).
The meeting was chaired by Pakistan’s foreign secretary Sohail Mahmood and China’s assistant foreign minister Wu Jianghao.
“As an open and inclusive platform, both sides welcomed interested third parties to benefit from avenues for mutually beneficial cooperation opened up by CPEC,” the Pakistan foreign office said in a statement, according to a report by PTI.
The CPEC links Pakistan’s Gwadar port on the Arabian Sea with Kashgar in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region but has been met with stiff resistance from Balochistan and sections of the Pakistani workers who are working in its projects.
However, during last week’s meeting Pakistan and China boasted that CPEC development reached a new point and broke new ground in strengthening international and regional connectivity.
India lodged its protest to China regarding the CPEC outlining that it is being laid through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
Chinese president Xi Jinping, however, highly values the $60 billion flagship project of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and sees it as a tool to gain regional and global supremacy.
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