India has said that the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) “encroaches’ on sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country, reported the Press Trust of India.
“We have a problem there. We have a problem with CPEC, our problems are well known because it completely encroaches on our sovereignty and territorial integrity. And that is not acceptable,” a government official told PTI, requesting anonymity.
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“We have to keep making them aware that this is a sensitive issue…there are sensitivities and you can’t be insensitive to somebody’s core concerns and we will articulate it,” the official added.
Asked about the country’s stance at the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) on lending to OBOR projects , the official claimed that New Delhi’s posturing gives a “balance” at the multilateral bank. “Our perspective gets a balance….otherwise it will be tilted too much one way,” the official said.
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China is the largest shareholder of AIIB with a 31 per cent holding, while India is the second largest with over 8 per cent holding. In the last two years, India has been the biggest beneficiary of AIIB’s activities, with over USD 1.6 billion being committed across seven projects.
On India’s stance on funding for projects at the AIIB, the official said we will not ‘shy away’ from funding. When asked about engagements like the one at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) recently, the official said, “There are areas where there is immense scope for collaboration, we will continue to work.”
