India to boycott China's OBOR conference
New
Delhi/Beijing: India has decided to boycott a two-day international conference
called by China on its One Belt One Road (OBOR) initiative, asserting that it
cannot accept a project which ignores its territorial integrity.
In a strongly-worded statement issued hours before the
opening of the forum in the Chinese capital, India said it has strong
reservation over the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) as it undermines
India's territorial integrity. The CPEC project is expected to figure
prominently in the conference which is starting in Beijing on Sunday.
India has said the CPEC project passes through
the Gilgit and Baltistan regions of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK),
which is an integral part of the country.
"Guided by our principled position in the matter, we
have been urging China to engage in a meaningful dialogue on its connectivity
initiative, “One Belt, One Road” which was later renamed as “Belt and Road
Initiative”. We are awaiting a positive response from the Chinese side,"
External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Gopal Baglay said in a statement.
"Regarding the so-called “China-Pakistan Economic
Corridor”, which is being projected as the flagship project of the BRI/OBOR,
the international community is well aware of India?s position. No country can
accept a project that ignores its core concerns on sovereignty and territorial
integrity," he said.
Noting
that India has received a formal invitation to participate in the six separate
forums that China is organising as part of the BRF, he said India is of the
firm belief that connectivity initiatives must be based on universally
recognised international norms, good governance, rule of law, openness,
transparency and equality.
"Connectivity initiatives must follow principles of
financial responsibility to avoid projects that would create unsustainable debt
burden for communities; balanced ecological and environmental protection and
preservation standards; transparent assessment of project costs; and skill and
technology transfer to help long-term running and maintenance of the assets
created by local communities," Baglay said.
Asserting that India shares international community?s
desire for enhancing physical connectivity, the ministry said it believes that
it should bring greater economic benefits to all in an equitable and balanced
manner.
The spokesperson also noted that India was working with
many countries and international institutions in support of physical and
digital connectivity in its immediate and near neighbourhood.
He also said that expansion and strengthening of
connectivity is an integral part of India?s economic and diplomatic initiatives
and observed that under the ?Act East? policy, it was pursuing the Trilateral
Highway project; under its ?Neighbourhood First? policy.
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