China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC)

In Context

• Recently, India slammed the move by Pakistan and China to involve third countries in CPEC projects.

More about the news

• About:
  • China and Pakistan extended a welcome to any country joining the multi-billion dollar economic corridor for “mutual beneficial cooperation”.
  • This proposal was made at a meeting of the CPEC Joint Working Group on International Cooperation and Coordination (JWG-ICC). 
• India’s stand:
  • The Ministry of External Affairs has reiterated that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is an ‘inherently illegal, illegitimate, and unacceptable‘ endeavour, and any new nation participating in it would be infringing on India’s geographic sovereignty.
• Significance:
  • The invitation by Pakistan and China to countries comes after reports emerged of the project stalling due to ground-level corruption, resistance by locals in places like Balochistan, and attacks on Chinese engineers and workers by Islamic fundamentalists and terrorists.

India’s Concerns

• Violation of Indian Sovereignty: 
  • The project violates the sovereignty of India as it passes through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), which is a disputed territory between India and Pakistan. 
  • As per well-established international conventions, no construction is allowed in any disputed territory, without taking the other country into confidence.
• Exploitation of Natural Resources: 
  • Under CPEC, China plans to build two mega-dams on Indus, named Bunji Dam and Bhasha Dam. 
  • This will put a heavy strain on the Indus Water Basin.
• Security Concerns for India: 
  • Increase in China’s Activities in IOR: 
    • With Gwadar being a part of CPEC, India fears an escalation of PLA Navy activities in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). 
  • Threat to Indian Trade and Connectivity: 
    • Majority of Indian tangible imports pass through the Strait of Hormuz. 
    • China can easily create impediments to its access to the Middle-east in case of a conflict, jeopardizing India’s energy security.
  • Enhanced threat from Pakistan: 
    • With the overhauling of the Karakoram Highway, Pakistan will enjoy an advantage in mobilizing troops as well as heavy military equipment to PoK. 
    • At the same time, an increase in financial returns to Pakistan through CPEC may expand its ability to fund military infrastructure as well as state-sponsored terrorism in Kashmir, thus destabilizing the region.

Way ahead

• Maintain Communication: 
  • Experts have advocated that India maintain communication and cordial relations with its neighbors. 
  • In such a context, India has done well to keep participating in forums like Shanghai Cooperation Organization to maintain communication with both Pakistan and China.
• International Collaboration: 
  • It is well settled that India cannot compete with China in the matter of financing developmental projects like CPEC in other developing countries. 
  • Therefore, it needs to collaborate with agencies like Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to offer soft loans to save them from falling into the Chinese debt trap.
• Security Concerns: 
  • Developing countries, especially the countries of Southeast Asia have pinned their hopes on India to counter China’s hegemony in the region. 
  • Here, India needs to build on alliances like Quad to maintain the balance of power in the Indo-pacific region.

Source: TH