New Delhi: India lashed out heavily at China and Pakistan for encouraging the third nations to join in their multi-billion dollar connectivity corridor project, which would pass via Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
External affairs ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi reacted sharply and said such activities under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) are “naturally illegal, illegitimate and unacceptable” and will be treated accordingly by India.
New Delhi, time and again, is against the CPEC projects because this is India’s territory that is illegally occupied by Pakistan.
At a meeting of the CPEC Joint Working Group (JWG) on International Cooperation and Coordination on Friday, Pakistan and China decided to welcome third nations to join CPEC projects.
“We have seen reports on encouraging 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,” Bagchi said.
India has opposed the project, so called CPEC, because it is on Indian land and is illegally occupied by Pakistan, he said.
The CPEC project got underway in 2013 to improve Pakistan’s infrastructure, such as rail, road, and energy transportation sectors. Apart from these, it connects its deep-sea port of Gwadar with China’s Xinjiang province.
The CPEC is linked with China’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), India always opposes CPEC and BRI projects.
