NEW DELHI (Sputnik) — India has opposed the CPEC project which passes through Pakistan Administered Kashmir that India claims as its territory. India has raised concerns about the CPEC and considers it a security threat.
To allay India's fears, the Chinese foreign ministry put out a statement today.
"The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor is an initiative on economic cooperation. It is not directed at any third party, not relevant to disputes over territorial sovereignty and does not affect China's position on the Kashmir issue," the Chinese statement is in reply to the Indian Ministry of External Affairs' statement.
The Indian foreign ministry spokesperson Gopal Baglay had earlier said that India cannot support a project which infringes its sovereignty and territorial integrity.
"India has clearly signaled by not participating in the One Belt One Road conference that New Delhi is against the Chinese connectivity project. The fact is that India views the OBOR as a security threat. Further, OBOR is not all about win-win. OBOR basically suits China's economic benefits," Geeta Kochhar, Professor in the Centre for Chinese and South East Asian Studies at the Jawaharlal Nehru University told Sputnik.
"If we open our borders for such connectivity, whereby our own manufacturing has not yet become robust, how can we secure our own economic interest?" she asked.
