Can't accept project that ignores core concerns: India on China's Belt and Road Forum

India said on Saturday it will not accept any project that violates the country's "sovereignty and territorial integrity", effectively ruling out participation in the Belt and Road Forum (BRF) summit beginning Sunday in Beijing to showcase President Xi Jinping signature project.

The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a core part of the BRF, passes through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) which India claims as its territory.

Twenty-nine countries are expected to be represented by either by their heads of state or government at the BRF, President Xi's ambitious initiative to connect Asia to Europe and Africa with a massive network of rail, road and maritime links.

In a statement on Saturday, the external affairs ministry said saying "no country can accept a project that ignores its core concerns on sovereignty and territorial integrity."

"Connectivity projects must be pursued in a manner that respects sovereignty and territorial integrity" of all countries, the MEA said.

"Guided by our principled position in the matter, we



have been urging China to engage in a meaningful dialogue on its connectivity initiative...We are awaiting a positive response from the Chinese side."

The infrastructure project, couched in China's soft power projections, would help China get road routes that are necessary for both its energy needs and selling goods in Asian, European and African markets.

India is also concerned that the 3,000 km long project connecting Pakistan's deep-water port Gwadar and China's Xinjiang stem from the fact the facility in Pakistan, which was taken over by the Chinese, could become a future naval base that will enable Beijing to increase its sphere of influence in the Indian Ocean region.

Beijing has been nonchalant about the CPEC impinging on India's sovereignty as it passes through the Gilgit-Baltistan region in PoK. But, in recent days, China has tried to assuage India's feelings by asserting that the commercial corridor will not have any impact on its stand that the Kashmir issue should be settled by New Delhi and Islamabad through dialogue.