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India Criticises Pak-China’s New Scheme To Admit Third Countries in CPEC Projects

Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said, "India firmly and consistently opposes projects in the so-called CPEC, which are in Indian territory that has been illegally occupied by Pakistan;" He further commented that such operations are "inherently illegal, illegitimate and unacceptable"

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INDIA/CHINA: India seems to have taken issue with the invitation extended by Pakistan and China to allow other third countries to join in and invest in the multi-billion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects- a sub-project of Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi gave a statement saying, “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.”

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India’s response comes at a crucial time after the third meeting of the CPEC Joint Working Group (JWG) on International Cooperation and Coordination (JWG-ICC) where neighbouring allies Pakistan and China decided to allow third countries to partake in this venture.

As a counterattack to India’s accusation, the Pakistan Foreign Office has issued a statement, “As an open and inclusive platform, both sides welcomed interested third parties to benefit from avenues for mutually beneficial cooperation opened up by CPEC.”

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China has consistently defended the CPEC projects, saying it is an economic venture not aimed at any other country.

CPEC comprises a combination of transport and energy projects aimed at the economic corridor from Gwadar in Pakistan to Kashgar in the Chinese region of Xinjiang.

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India’s opposition lies in the fact that the CPEC network passes through the highly volatile Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

Bagchi said, “India firmly and consistently opposes projects in the so-called CPEC, which are in Indian territory that has been illegally occupied by Pakistan.” He further commented that such operations are “inherently illegal, illegitimate and unacceptable.”

Originally valued at $47 billion, the value of CPEC projects is worth $62 billion as of 2020, according to the BBC. While there has been no official notification regarding the new investors, a Global Times report on January 16 suggested that Saudi Arabia, UAE and Germany might hop on board.

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