One Belt, One Road not international venture: India

[Hindustani78]

http://zeenews.india.com/india/what...ou-want-on-obor-china-asks-india-2005760.html

Beijing: China on Tuesday took strong exception to India's stand on its Belt and Road initiative and asked New Delhi to explain what kind of "meaningful dialogue" it wants with Beijing on the multibillion-dollar venture.

"Over the past four years since the project was initiated we have been holding the principle of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits" for the Belt and Road initiative, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said, reacting to Ministry of External Affairs spokesman Gopal Bagley's remarks that China should hold a meaningful dialogue on the concerns over the One Belt One Road (OBOR) project.

"I do not know what the spokesperson (of MEA was) trying to say. What kind of dialogue is a meaningful dialogue. What kind of a positive attitude the spokesman wants China to have?" Hua said when asked for her reaction to Bagley's remarks a day before the two-day Belt and Road Forum.

India boycotted the Belt and Road Forum (BRF) held from May 14-15. The meeting was attended by 29 world leaders, including Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
India skipped the meeting due to its sovereignty concerns over the USD 50 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) which passes through Azad Kashmir (Azad Kashmir).

A day before the Summit, Baglay had said in New Delhi that, "Guided by our principled position in the matter, we have been urging China to engage in a meaningful dialogue on its connectivity initiative, 'One Belt, One Road', which was later renamed as 'Belt and Road Initiative'. We are awaiting a positive response from the Chinese side."

Hua, while responding to Baglay's remarks, said, "I think our ideas and actions are there for all to see. You can see the response of the international community towards this forum."

"Our attitude is always clear. We always want India to participate in the Belt and Road initiative. If they have the answer, they can give the answer to me, either in a public or private?" she said.

Hua said China always followed the principle of extensive consultation with other countries on the project over which India has sovereignty concerns.

"We always say the Belt and Road initiative is an open and inclusive one. We always follow the principle of extensive consultation, contribution and shared benefit," she said, referring to Chinese President Xi Jinping's remarks at the Summit that benefits from the venture should be shared by all.


Skirting any references to India's absence at the meeting, Xi had said, "All countries should respect each other's sovereignty, dignity and territorial integrity, each other's development paths and social systems, and each other's cores interests and major concerns."


"I think these initiatives by China have already made a clear response to the Indian side," Hua said.

Hua asserted that China has already made its position clear on the Kashmir issue over which the Indian side is concerned.

The Belt and Road initiative is for regional peace and prosperity. CPEC is not about the conflict with various sides and will not affect China's position on the Kashmir issue. It is an open initiative and welcomes various parties, Hua said.

"So, China always holds the open and inclusive attitude and we want to see the participation of more parties and to bring more impetus to the region and to the world and prosperity to development to more and more countries," she said.

"So, China welcomes the participation of India into the belt Belt and Road initiative," she said.

Facts about the initiative have shown that the Belt and Road project responded to the trend of times and is in line with the common interests of the people, Hua said, reiterating China's stand.

"It (Belt and Road) has bright future for development," she said, adding that the venture received a "very warm response" from the international community.

About the BRF which concluded yesterday, Hua said it built consensus, pointed direction for international cooperation, chartered course and identified action plans

"It was a successful, productive and fruitful event," she said.

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http://zeenews.india.com/india/door...belt-and-road-project-says-china-2005789.html
Beijing: China on Tuesday said it was up to India to join the Belt and Road project, but the doors for New Delhi "will always remain open".

India skipped the just-concluded Belt and Road forum in Beijing in opposition to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) that passes through Pakistan-administered Kashmir.

Beijing also asked New Delhi to explain what it meant by "meaningful dialogue" on the Belt and Road project.

"The Belt and Road initiative is for regional peace and prosperity. The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor as part of the Belt and Road is not about conflicts with various countries and will not affect China's position on Kashmir issue," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said.

"China has welcomed the participation of India in the Belt and Road project. Our answer is clear."

"It depends on what aspect the Indian side holds."

"Doors will always remain open. We will always welcome the participation from the Indian side," she added.

Asked about India's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Gopal Baglay's remarks that India has been urging China to engage in a meaningful dialogue on Belt and Road, Hua said: "I would like you to do me a favour. I read his statement many times. He said that he is waiting for a meaningful dialogue from China and I don't know what the spokesperson is trying to say."

"What kind of dialogue is a meaningful dialogue? What kind of positive attitude does the spokesperson want China to hold?

"If they have the answer they can give me the answer in public and private."

"Our position is clear that we have always welcomed India to participate in the Belt and Road initiative."

On the eve of the OBOR forum, Indian issued a statement saying it cannot "accept a project that ignores its core concerns on sovereignty and territorial integrity".

CPEC is the key artery of China's Belt and Road project that aims to connect Asia, Europe and Africa through a network of roads, railway lines and ports.

Besides its opposition to the CPEC, which India has raised at the highest forums during bilateral interactions, New Delhi in a statement had also cited its other concerns about OBOR.

"We are of firm belief that connectivity initiatives must be based on universally recognised international norms, good governance, rule of law, openness, transparency and equality.

"Connectivity initiatives must follow principles of financial responsibility to avoid projects that would create unsustainable debt burden for communities; balanced ecological and environmental protection and preservation standards; transparent assessment of project costs; and skill and technology transfer to help long term running and maintenance of the assets created by local communities. Connectivity projects must be pursued in a manner that respects sovereignty and territorial integrity," it added.

 

[Hindustani78]

http://www.thehindu.com/news/intern...s-indias-concerns-on-cpec/article18486328.ece
BEIJING, May 18, 2017 18:55 IST
Updated: May 18, 2017 19:48 IST

China on Thursday re-invoked the doctrine of Panchsheel — the five principle of peaceful co-existence — as the template for addressing India’s concerns over the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and the China-led Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

In response to a question, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying, citing remarks by President Xi Jinping at the recently concluded Belt and Road Forum (BRF), said that the five principles of peaceful cooperation along the Belt and Road should be the basis for addressing India’s concerns.

India had decided to skip the BRF hosted by China on the grounds that CPEC — an economic corridor with Pakistan, infringed New Delhi’s sovereignty as it passed through Kashmir.

Ms. Hua stressed that “We would like to follow the five principles of coexistence in developing friendly relations with other countries, including our efforts in promoting regional connectivity.”

“I am sure you would have noticed that during the Belt and Road Forum of International Cooperation, President Xi also said that we would follow the principle of peaceful coexistence to promote friendly cooperation along the Belt and Road. So I think in this way the concerns from the Indian side must be addressed,” she added.

In his address on Sunday, Mr. Xi had said that five principles of peaceful coexistence — the brainchild of China, India and Myanmar in the 1950s — should be the mantra for advancing the Belt and Road Initiative and as a vehicle for achieving sustainable globalisation.

In his keynote address, President Xi highlighted that China “will enhance friendship and cooperation with all countries in the world on the Belt and Road Initiative on the basis of the five principles of peaceful coexistence.”

Mr. Xi had stressed that China had “no intention to interfere in other countries’ internal affairs, export our own social system or model of development, or impose our own will on others.”

The five principles cited by the Chinese President are: mutual respect for each other's territorial integrity and sovereignty, mutual non-aggression, non-interference in each other's internal affairs, equality and mutual benefit and peaceful co-existence.

A note posted on the Chinese foreign ministry website says that in June 1954, Premier Zhou Enlai visited India and Burma, now Myanmar. “The joint Statement of the Prime Ministers of China and India issued on 28 June and the Joint Statement of the Prime Ministers of China and Burma issued on 29 June both affirmed that the Five Principles of Peaceful Existence as guiding principles in their bilateral relations and the Five Principles were formally proposed as the norms governing international relations.”

Separately, a speech by former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru during the Asian Prime Ministers Conference in Colombo had also cited Panchsheel as the touchstone of peaceful international relations.

Ms. Hua highlighted that the “CPEC is an important part of the Belt and Road (that) will bring benefits to regional connectivity and common development and prosperity.”

Regarding the status of Kashmir, she reiterated “As we said before, it is an issue between India and Pakistan and the Belt and Road initiative will not change China’s position on the Kashmir issue.”

On Tuesday China had said that its “doors will always remain open” for India’s participation in the BRI, notwithstanding New Delhi’s decision not to participate in a two-day brainstorming forum that had concluded the previous day.

“Doors will always remain open. We will always welcome the participation from the Indian side,” Ms. Hua had observed.

 

[Hindustani78]

http://www.hindustantimes.com/world...a-un-report/story-05fDgjtdFmATT6K13ZJffN.html

The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor’s route through Azad Kashmir could create tensions with India and lead to “further political instability” in the region, a UN body has warned in a new report.

The report on China’s Belt and Road Initiative, released on Tuesday by the Economic and Social Commission for Asia Pacific (ESCAP), the UN’s regional development arm, said President Xi Jinping’s ambitious project has the potential to position the region as an epicentre for growth and trade.

However, the report prepared at the request of the Chinese government flagged concerns about social and environmental safeguards and the route of the CPEC passing through Kashmir.

“The dispute over Kashmir is also of concern, since the crossing of the (CPEC) in the region might create geo-political tension with India and ignite further political instability,” the 94-page report said.

India has repeatedly voiced its objections to the route of the CPEC passing through Azad Kashmir (Azad Kashmir). New Delhi did not send a representative to the Belt and Road Forum held in Beijing last week because of these concerns.

China has said the CPEC is an economic initiative that is “not relevant to disputes over territorial sovereignty”. Beijing has also said the project does not affect its position on the Kashmir issue, which should be addressed through negotiations between India and Pakistan.

The ESCAP report also referred to the political instability in Afghanistan and said this could “limit the potential benefits of transit corridors to population centres near Kabul or Kandahar, as those routes traverse southern and eastern Afghanistan where the Taliban are most active”.


It was more critical about the implications of the CPEC for Balochistan, Pakistan’s resource-rich province that has been troubled by a long-running insurgency. It referred to the impact of migrants on the ethnic Baloch, who have been demanding a greater say in the use of the province’s abundant natural resources, including gas and minerals.

The CPEC, the report said, “could lead to widespread displacement of local communities”.

“In Balochistan, there are concerns that migrants from other regions of Pakistan will render ethnic Baloch a minority in the province…In addition, Hazaras are another minority of concern. If the benefits of the proposed (CPEC) are reaped by large conglomerates, linked to Chinese or purely Punjabi interests, the identity and culture of the local population could be further marginalized,” the report said.

There were also concerns that the CPEC would pass through an “already narrow strip of cultivable land” in mountainous western Pakistan, “destroying farmland and orchards”.

“The resulting resettlements would reduce local population into an ‘economically subservient minority’. Marginalisation of local population groups could re-ignite separatist movements and toughen military response from the Government,” the report said.

ESCAP’s executive secretary Shamshad Akhtar, a former chief of the State Bank of Pakistan, was silent on the concerns related to Kashmir in her foreword to the report but said the “success of an initiative of this scale and ambition will depend on intelligent implementation built on strong analysis”.

“For it to be inclusive, the BRI should be informed by broad consultation of affected communities, including on health, employment and land rights issues,” she wrote.

 

[Hindustani78]

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/627775/china-pak-proximity-worrisome-panel.html

Says India must deepen engagement with US, Russia to fight terrorism

Observing that China-Pakistan proximity has assumed "worrisome proportions", a parliamentary panel recommended that India must deepen its engagement with the US and Russia to fight terrorism exported by its western neighbour.

"The international community need to realise that the use of terrorism as a state policy by a nuclear-armed Pakistan is not only India's problem, but also a grave global concern," the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs stated in its latest report. The panel also recommended that the government should "deepen and widen" India's engagement with the US and Russia on the issue of countering terrorism emanating from Pakistan.

The committee, which is chaired by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, recently submitted its report on India-Pakistan relations to the Lok Sabha.

The panel echoed the concerns of the Government of India over China's role in building infrastructure in parts of Kashmir illegally occupied by Pakistan.

"It is quite inexplicable that a country so sensitive about the sovereignty and territorial integrity has been oblivious about our sovereignty concerns on (the) CPEC (China-Pakistan Economic Corridor)," noted the parliamentary committee.

The CPEC is a proposed economic corridor linking Kashgar in Xinxiang in north-western China and a deep sea port at Gwadar in Balochistan in south-western Pakistan. It is proposed to pass through areas India accuses Pakistan of illegally occupying in Kashmir.

"It is worrisome to discern that some of the projects under the CPEC are in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (Azad Kashmir), a part of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir which has been in illegal occupation of Pakistan since 1947," observed the panel, which also had MPs of ruling BJP and Opposition Congress, Samajwadi Party, Trinamool Congress and Communist Party of India (Marxist).

New Delhi has been opposing the CPEC, which is a component of the One-Belt-One-Road connectivity initiative launched by China. It has been arguing that the CPEC infringed upon the sovereignty of India.

"We may well be poised for greater Pakistan-China strategic collaboration and should prepare for that eventuality," Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar said, while briefing the parliamentary panel about China-Pakistan engagements.

The committee also noted China's persistent policy of blocking India's move to bring Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar and other terrorist leaders based in Pakistan under United Nations sanctions. It recommended that the government should continue its dialogue with its international partners, including China, for bringing the JeM chief under UN sanctions.

 

[Hindustani78]

US Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis at the hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee.(AFP)
http://www.hindustantimes.com/india...d-territory/story-Lh2aIU5Nt5BGYUMCj8xk3L.html

The Donald Trump administration threw its weight behind India’s opposition to the China- Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), saying it passes through a disputed territory and no country should put itself into a position of dictating the Belt and Road initiative.

India skipped the Belt and Road Forum (BRF) in May this year due to its sovereignty concerns over the nearly $60 billion CPEC, a flagship project of China’s prestigious One Belt One Road (OBOR), which passes through Azad Kashmir (Azad Kashmir).

Having returned from his maiden trip to India last week wherein he met his counterpart Nirmala Sitharaman and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis appeared on Tuesday to be a strong opponent of China’s ambitious OBOR initiative.

“In a globalised world, there are many belts and many roads, and no one nation should put itself into a position of dictating ‘one belt, one road’,” Mattis told members of the Senate Armed Services Committee during a Congressional hearing.

“That said, the One Belt One Road also goes through disputed territory, and I think, that in itself shows the vulnerability of trying to establish that sort of a dictate,” Mattis said apparently referring to India’s position on CPEC.

Mattis was responding to a question from Senator Charles Peters over OBOR and China’s policy in this regard.

“The One Belt One Road strategy seeks to secure China’s control over both the continental and the maritime interest, in their eventual hope of dominating Eurasia and exploiting natural resources there, things that are certainly at odds with US policy. So what role do you see China playing in Afghanistan, and particularly related to their One Belt One Road,” Peter had asked.

 

[Hindustani78]

http://indianexpress.com/article/world/china-ready-to-address-indian-concerns-over-bri-4900257/

STRESSING THAT it was important for India to join the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said that it is willing to engage in “in-depth communication” to address Indian concerns. Senior MFA officials also said that China supports Indian efforts to play a bigger role in international affairs and expressed hope that India would respect Chinese concerns, especially those involving the Dalai Lama and border disputes.

“We had invited India to the Belt and Road Forum and hoped they would join the initiative, but India has expressed concerns. We think it is important for India to participate in this programme. We are ready to have in-depth communication with the Indian side to address their relevant concerns,” said Yao Wen, Counsellor of the Department of Asian Affairs under China’s MFA. The official said he hoped that India would “understand” China’s position and join Chinese President Xi Jinping’s initiative.

According to Yao, Japan and the US had made positive statements about BRI. “So we do not want to see absence of India in BRI. We hope India can join BRI, which is beneficial to the development of this region,” he said. On Wednesday, Xi made multiple references to BRI in his address to the 19th National Congress, an indication of the project’s importance. The ambitious initiative aims to leverage China’s manufacturing clout and enhance trade by connecting Asia, Europe and Africa through a vast network of roads and two sea routes. India chose to skip the the inaugural Belt and Road Forum in Beijing in May, which was attended by 29 heads of state and where 270 MoUs and agreements were signed. India is opposed to the BRI, citing the China Pakistan Economic Corridor, which runs through Azad Kashmir.

“India has expressed its concerns on CPEC because they believe CPEC passes through territory they believe is their own. One important project is the Karakoram Road. This is the only land passage between China and Pakistan. It was completed in the 1970s and we are upgrading this road for more convenient transport. We keep telling our friends in India that the BRI and CPEC are not about territorial claims and will not affect China’s position on the Kashmir issue,” Yao said. The official said China considered the Kashmir conflict as a top priority along with the Korean Peninsula, the South China Sea dispute and instability in Afghanistan.

Just weeks after the BRF, ties between India and China sunk to a low following a military stand-off in Doklam. Ties improved after the BRICS summit in Xiamen where Xi and Prime Minister Narendra Modi held bilateral talks. “China-India relations have seen twists and turns this year. As the major countries in this region, it is natural that we have some disagreements,” Yao said.

Yao said China supported India’s development and efforts to play a bigger role in international affairs. “At the same time it is hoped that India could respect China’s concerns, for example, the Dalai Lama issue and the boundary question…” Asked if China had offered to mediate between India and Pakistan, Yao said, “The Kashmir issue has been there for years and China hopes it is resolved peacefully. We hope the situation can be managed to avoid further conflicts.”

 

[Hindustani78]

//economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/61660935.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has withdrawn its bid to include the USD 14 billion Diamer-Bhasha Dam in Azad Kashmir in the CPEC framework after China placed strict conditions, including ownership of the mega project, according to senior officials.

Pakistan has been struggling to raise money from international institutions like the World Bank in the face of Indian opposition to the project on the Indus River in Azad Kashmir (Azad Kashmir).

The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a part of Chinese President Xi Jinping's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), runs through Azad Kashmir and India has raised objection to the project.

Neither the World Bank and Asian Development Bank (ADB) nor China would finance the dam, therefore, the government decided to construct the reservoir from its own resources, the Express Tribune today quoted Water Resources Secretary Shumail Khawaja as saying.

Pakistan decided to take the dam project off the table just days before the 7th Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC) meeting with China, which is scheduled for November 21 in Islamabad, it said.

The JCC is the highest decision-making body of the CPEC.

"Chinese conditions for financing the Diamer-Bhasha Dam were not doable and against our interests," Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) Chairman Muzammil Hussain said yesterday while briefing the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on the status of the mega water and power project.

He said the Chinese conditions were about taking ownership of the project, operation and maintenance cost and securitisation of the Diamer-Bhasha project by pledging another operational dam.

These conditions were unacceptable, therefore, Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi approved a report to finance the dam from the country's own resources, he said.

A flagship project under the Belt and Road Initiative, the CPEC is a trade network of highways, railways, pipelines and optical cables which are currently under construction throughout Pakistan.

India skipped the Belt and Road Forum (BRF) in May this year due to its sovereignty concerns over the CPEC.

The issue of excluding the Diamer-Bhasha Dam from the CPEC framework also featured in the Cabinet Committee on CPEC which met last week, the paper said.

The Wapda chairman and the water resources secretary informed the premier that the only way out was to fund the much-delayed project from domestic resources, it said.

There were hopes that Pakistan may finally complete the project after including it in the CPEC framework, the report said.

Interestingly, ground-breaking of the Diamer-Bhasha Dam has been performed five times in the past 15 years, it said.

The Wapda chairman blamed the ADB for the delay, saying the bank first destroyed the project and later declined to provide loan. The ADB was of the view that the project was located in a disputed territory, Hussain said.

The project will have the capacity to generate 4,500MW of electricity in addition to the storage capacity for six million acre feet of water, which the country desperately needs due to shrinking storages.

The Wapda chairman said the project cost would hover around USD 14 billion and the prime minister had agreed to split the scheme into dam storage and power generation.

According to the new financing plan, he said, the federal government would provide Rs 30 billion per annum over the next nine years from the Public Sector Development Programme, taking total federal contribution to Rs 270 billion.

Hussain said Wapda would generate 20 per cent of equity from its own resources whereas financing for constructing power plants would be arranged from commercial sources.

Construction work on the dam site would begin next year and the government would complete it in nine years, he said. Work on the power generation site will begin two and a half years after the start of work on the dam.

 

[Hindustani78]

Ministry of Finance
12-December, 2017 18:25 IST
India to host 3rd Annual Meeting of Board of Governors of Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank

MoU signed between Govt. of India and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank to host the meeting at Mumbai on 25-26 June, 2018

2018 Annual Meeting theme is - Mobilizing Finance for Infrastructure: Innovation and Collaboration.

India will host the 3rd Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of AIIB at Mumbai on 25th and 26th June 2018. The Theme of the Annual Meeting, 2018 will be “Mobilizing Finance for Infrastructure: Innovation and Collaboration”. The Government of India and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) Secretariat today signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to delineate the duties and responsibilities of major stakeholders who would be involved in organizing the aforesaid Annual Meeting. The Memorandum of Understanding was signed on behalf of the Government of India by Shri Sameer Kumar Khare, Joint Secretary (Multilateral Institutions Division), Department of Economic Affairs (DEA), M/o Finance and by Mr Danny Alexander, AIIB’s Vice-President and Corporate Secretary on behalf of AIIB. The Signing Ceremony took place at the Ministry of Finance in North Block in New Delhi today in the august presence of Shri Subhash Chandra Garg, Secretary (Economic Affairs) and Dr. M.M. Kutty, Additional Secretary (Economic Affairs) and other senior officers of the Government of India and AIIB.

Speaking on the occasion, Shri Subhash Chandra Garg, Secretary, DEA said that it is a significant development that India is to host the 3rd Annual Meeting of AIIB at Mumbai. India is not only one of the founding members of AIIB but is also the 2nd largest shareholder in AIIB. Shri Garg noted that this international event will provide an excellent opportunity to showcase the strengths of the Indian economy and introduce AIIB members to potential infrastructure investment opportunities in India and Asia.

In his address, Mr. Danny Alexander, Vice President, Corporate Secretary, AIIB, stated that India is central to delivering on the Bank’s mandate to support the sustainable economic development of Asia through investment in Infrastructure. “It is but appropriate that the Annual Meeting is being held in Mumbai, the financial capital of India. We are hoping that discussions in Mumbai will help AIIB to deepen our cooperation with India and to develop our approach for mobilizing more private sector capital for infrastructure in Asia. AIIB will continue to develop the Bank according to “Lean, Clean and Green” core values”, Mr Alexander added. He also said that AIIB looks forward to continuing to work with the Indian Government and India’s business community to further develop solutions to fund vital sustainable infrastructure projects across the country.

Even though the 3rd Annual Meeting of the AIIB will take place on 25th and 26th June, 2018 in Mumbai, the Attendant Meeting of the Board of Directors will take place on 23rd and 24th June, 2018 and preparatory work and ancillary events will take place from 22nd June, 2018 till 27th June, 2018. The Annual Meeting will bring to Mumbai the delegates from all 80 AIIB Member countries, business leaders, members of civil society organizations and media among others.

Annual Meeting related Seminars would also be organized in some Indian cities like Delhi, Kolkata, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Chennai, Bangalore & Vishakhapatnam etc. prior to the main Annual Meeting. The website https://www.aiib.org will detail out specific information about the forthcoming Annual Meeting. Registration for delegates and media desirous to cover the event will also soon be facilitated. A Special Committee at the level of Secretary, DEA has been constituted for coordinating the matters relating to organizing the 2018 Annual Meeting, with representatives from various Ministries concerned of Govt. of India and Govt. of Maharashtra. The Government of Maharashtra has nominated Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) as the nodal agency for organising the Annual Meeting.

AIIB is a multilateral development bank with a mission to improve social and economic outcomes in Asia and beyond. Headquartered in Beijing, China, AIIB commenced operations in January 2016. The AIIB today also approved a US$335 million loan to finance a 100-percent electric Bangalore Metro Rail—R 6 project.


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[Hindustani78]

India has raised objections to the construction of the dam as its site is in Gilgit-Baltistan, which it says is part of the undivided Jammu and Kashmir state.

Updated: Dec 14, 2017 22:13 IST

http://www.hindustantimes.com/world...t-baltistan/story-7lmfELkxyC8UvN57OttggN.html

China has denied it demanded “full ownership” and the right to operate the Diamer-Bhasha dam in the disputed Gilgit-Baltistan region, the country’s top planning body has said, adding Beijing and Islamabad continue to be in contact over the project.

The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) dismissed reports that China had not only claimed ownership of the dam but also wanted collateral security for the project in the form of another operational dam.

India has raised objections to the construction of the dam as its site is in Gilgit-Baltistan, which is claimed by New Delhi as part of the undivided Jammu and Kashmir state.

In November, Pakistan withdrew its bid to include the dam in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), with a senior official saying Chinese conditions for financing the dam were unacceptable.

At the time, the Chinese foreign ministry had denied any information on the development.

The CPEC is the flagship project under China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a multi-billion dollar connectivity project that spans Asia.

NDRC deputy director Wang Xiaotao told Pakistani counterparts that the question of China demanding ownership of the dam does not arise.

“Currently, the two sides are maintaining contact on the cooperation project of the Diamer-Bhasha Dam. However, the project has not yet been included in the list of energy projects under the Economic Corridor, and the trade authorities of China and Pakistan also didn’t conduct any exchanges on the development plan of the Diamer-Bhasha Dam,” Wang was quoted as saying during the a meeting of the CPEC joint committee last month.

“Therefore, there is no ‘Chinese request for full ownership of the Diamer-Bhasha project, its right to operate and make another in Pakistan hydropower station as collateral’ and so on. There are inaccurate aspects in reports of Pakistan media on the project of Diamer-Bhasha, or it just represents the position of individual officials,” Wang said.

The NDRC issued a statement on the meeting last week. The theme of the meeting, according to the statement, was “Dream become Realistic”.

Work on the dam is at a preliminary stage though the foundation stone was laid in 2011. When completed, the dam is expected to generate 4,500 MW of electricity.

Pakistan has struggled to get the dam financed from international institutions such as the World Bank because of India’s opposition.

The Chinese statement further said CPEC’s progress has been smooth, with consensus between the two countries to connect the BRI with Pakistan’s “Vision 2025” in the format of a “1+4” cooperation framework. This will comprise energy, transportation, infrastructure and industrial cooperation with Gwadar port on the Arabian Sea in Pakistan’s Balochistan province.

It added the CPEC joint committee had held five training sessions for 200 civil servants and workers of the Pakistani government to enhance their operational capabilities.

 

[Hindustani78]

http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/mapping-the-chinese-century/article22897453.ece?homepage=true


As China offers a model for developing countries to follow, India must position itself suitably

Each succeeding week brings fresh evidence of how anarchic the international global order has become. Quite a few nations, including many of the newer ones, are seeking a new salience in the affairs of their region, aiming to establish their dominance. This is one cause for many of today’s turmoils.

The unfortunate aspect is that while there is greater clarity on the new challenges that nations face, the current international system is unable to come up with sustainable solutions to deal with these multiple challenges. For instance, currently the U.S. is seen to be incapable of playing a balancing role in Asian affairs, and to have ceded ground to China. China appears unrivalled in Asia at present given its military might and economic power. The only opposition to China today comes from India.

India and China both adhere to a rules-based international order, but a wide gap separates their perceptions of what constitutes the international order. This has more than ordinary significance today even as global powers are beginning to shift their stance, and a ‘balance of power’ approach is no longer the norm. For Asia, this is proving to be a destabilising development, affecting peace in the region as the U.S. is no longer willing to take on responsibilities for peace.

Setting the rules

It is China that is now beginning to set the rules in accordance with its interests and values. China is enlarging the scope of its ambitions, being aware that no country in the Asian region, with the exception of India, can possibly stand in the way of it fulfilling its ambitions. The Belt and Road Initiative is only one manifestation of its growing ambitions. All signs point to China seeking avenues for global dominance, exploiting the weaknesses and inequalities that currently plague the international system.

There is, thus, almost a surreal quality in the statements and announcements put forward by other Asian nations on how to limit China’s vaulting ambitions. The Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, and the seeking of an early conclusion of the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea at the ASEAN Summit in New Delhi fall into this category. It may have been intended to buttress ASEAN’s position on their dispute with China, but is unlikely to have any impact.

China, for its part, is busy turning the South China Sea into its ‘military outpost’. It is setting up several military installations despite opposition from other claimants to rights over the South China Sea. The Spratly Islands have been transformed into a major stage for military manoeuvres, with the transformation of previously barren reefs into military installations. None of the other claimants — or for that matter even the U.S. — is in a position to check China’s activities. This reflects the measure of Chinese ascendance over the region.

The recently concluded Chinese 19th Communist Party Congress (October 2017) and the developments that immediately preceded it should hence be of special significance for countries in the Asian region, especially India. If the Party Congress marked a return to the Mao era, what should be of even greater importance is that it made little secret of China’s intention to achieve global leadership. Accompanying this was a declaration of intent to make its military ‘world class’, one that is capable of ‘winning wars’.

At the Party Congress, Xi Jinping, now the undisputed and unquestioned leader of both the party and the state, declared many times the dawn of a “new era” — an era of socialism with Chinese characteristics. Mr. Xi further talked of China’s pre-eminence in the east and described its rising “comprehensive national power” as leading on to global status. Not explicitly stated, but intrinsic to China’s belief, is that it is a big country with extensive economic, military and political might, and that it expects other smaller countries to accept its leadership.

An expansionist power

China is thus poised to set its compass to become an ideologically revisionist and an expansionist major power — one that aims to create more strategic space that would compel regional powers (India not excluded) to defer to, and accommodate, its wishes. The current People’s Liberation Army strategy of moving out into peripheral areas vacated by the U.S. fits in well with such intentions. China has already fired its opening salvos shifting focus from the East and South China Seas to the Indian Ocean. It is steadily enlarging its concept of ‘expanded strategic space’, viz. from land to sea. More of this is on the anvil.

If continuity of policy is dependent on the vision of one individual — in this case President Xi — the party statute is set to be amended to ensure continuance of Mr. Xi as President for further terms beyond 2023, so as to ensure strong and stable leadership until the middle of the 21st century. India has every reason to feel concerned and be on its guard.

China is evidently working to a set plan, and in the belief that the conduct of a nation is critical to ensure the outcome of any geo-political or geo-strategic conflict. For the present, its intentions seem to be to convince nations in the Asian region about is intrinsic superiority and exalted status, based on notions of ‘exceptionalism’ and ‘uniqueness’, paving the way for its leadership in the region.

Relations with neighbours

Simultaneously, it has consciously set about damaging India’s relations with neighbours, including most recently Nepal and the Maldives. India’s relations with some of its other neighbours have also suffered due to China’s machinations, mainly through the provision of economic incentives, promises of infrastructure development, and certain ‘unseen benefits’. The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (which provides China an opening to the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean), for instance, has both an economic and a strategic imperative.

Doklam (in Bhutan) during 2017, and the Maldives this year are test cases in China’s determined bid to enlarge its ‘strategic space’. The Doklam standoff, notwithstanding India’s claims, has created a degree of uncertainty about India’s ability to match China’s ambitious inroads into India’s neighbourhood. The Maldives imbroglio has led to the distancing from India of a long-term dependent ally, viz. the Maldives, which seems to be moving into China’s orbit. China already has a lookout in the southern-most archipelago of the Maldives and is currently seeking to establish a ‘joint ocean observation station’ in one of the northern atolls, giving China a vantage point overlooking the main shipping lanes in the western Indian Ocean. There are also reports of increased deployment of Chinese ships in the Indian Ocean Region, and reports of frequent underwater movements of Chinese submarines to designated ports in the Indian Ocean Region apart from the establishment of naval bases in Djibouti and Gwadar.

In the meantime, China is offering ‘a new choice’ or model for developing countries to follow. This posits a direct challenge to the democratic model followed by India which emphasises a more liberal order. Alongside systematic moves made to diminish India’s image in the region, and its resort to ‘salami tactics’, China hopes to strike a blow against India without engaging in an open conflict. Consequently, India needs to urgently come up with a pre-emptive strategy to prevent China from succeeding in its efforts. India should position itself suitably, ideating an alternative model that is much less threatening to countries in the region. The attempt should be to counter China’s vision of international relations — that puts a premium on expanding and flexing its military capabilities and provides dubious economic benefits under the rubric of trade and market access — with an alternative model. It must also restrict China’s present ascendency in regard to port infrastructure and maritime commerce in the Indian Ocean that is giving China an advantage in regional affairs.

The only bulwark

India is the only bulwark in Asia to counter Chinese designs and expansionism. It alone can prevent a further expansion of China’s ‘strategic space’ and a Chinese takeover of the entire region.

M.K. Narayanan is a former National Security Advisor and a former Governor of West Bengal

 

[Hindustani78]

China-Pakistan cooperation can transform the subcontinent — joining a renamed CPC would be a good start

A few months ago, Anjum Altaf, former dean of the prestigious Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), wrote an article in the Dawn newspaper, making a strong case for mutually beneficial economic cooperation between Pakistan and China. He also gave a revealing example of how this has become impossible because of “blind nationalism” in Pakistan.

“At the time,” he wrote, “when tomatoes were selling for Rs300 a kilo in Lahore, they were available at Indian Rs40 a kilo in Amritsar a mere 30 miles away. But a visceral Indo-phobia, shared by many of our influentials, stood in the way of consumers benefiting from the lower priced supply.” Indian Establishment want nothing to be exported from India to the enemy nation.

This kind of blind nationalism by Indians is by no means Pakistan’s monopoly. Those who watch Indian TV channels debating India-Pakistan relations routinely hear similar Pak-phobia. Result: despite being neighbours, India and Pakistan are among the least integrated nations in the world. Because of their unending mutual hostility which is due to occupation of holy sites of ancient Aryan Nation and systematic transfering of non aryan tribes on the ancient lands of Aryan nation, South Asia too has become the most integrated region in the world. The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is more integrated. Sadly, the most populous region in the world has also remained home to the largest number of people in the world.

So near, so far
A few striking examples will show how our two countries, which were part of a single seamless socio-economic and cultural entity before 1947, have now completely drifted apart. There are no direct flights between their capitals — New Delhi and Islamabad. The frequency of Delhi-Lahore and Mumbai-Karachi flights have become minimal. The Mumbai-Karachi ferry service (the two port cities, once part of a single province, are closer to each other than either Mumbai and Delhi or Karachi and Islamabad) was stopped after the 1965 war.

In this age of information revolution, the number of phone calls between Indian and Pakistani citizens (including calls between close relatives of divided families) is negligible, mostly out of fear of being questioned by their respective security agencies.

Those who are happy with this status quo have set responses. On the Indian side, it will be said that terror and trade cannot go together. The Narendra Modi government has raised the bar higher — terror and talks cannot go together. On the Pakistani side, resolution of the Kashmir issue has become a precondition for any substantial bilateral cooperation.

But is the status quo benefiting either country? The answer is obvious, except to those arrogant ultra-nationalists who think India now has a seat on the global high table and hence need not care for Pakistan, and to those narrow-minded Pakistani patriots who think they need not care for India since they now have two protectors — China and the Russian federation.

China, of course, has become factor influencing India’s negative attitude towards Pakistan, both among policy-makers and the common people. Our Army chief, General Bipin Rawat’s egregious remark last year about India being ready for a simultaneous war with Pakistan and China on all the fronts (the “half front” being our own alienated people in Kashmir) has helped solidify an impression that our two large neighbours can never be friendly towards India. If India’s foreign and defence policies proceed on this belief, South Asia is surely heading towards a future of intensified hostilities and conflicts. Arms manufacturers and distant destabilisers will profit by this at the cost of common Indians who are given employment, education, health care and food-and-environmental security. These needs are been met only through regional cooperation, not regional rivalry.

China, part of the solution
In other words,China is real problem rather than being perceived as a part of the India-Pakistan solution .A three-way India-China-Pakistan cooperation is not only necessary , and Chinese President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) provides a practical framework for such partnership for more problem . Unfortunately, Mr. Modi has allowed himself to be misled by his advisers on the BRI. The government’s opposition to the BRI is based, among other things, on the myopic argument that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a flagship project under the BRI, violates India’s sovereignty since it passes through occupied Kashmir.

Not only does this argument hold no water but it also undermines India’s long-term development and security interests. Article VI in the 1963 China-Pakistan boundary agreement clearly states in that “after the settlement of the Kashmir dispute between Pakistan and India, the sovereign authority concerned will reopen negotiations with the Government of the People’s Republic of China....” There is no doubt of India all of the getting occupied Kashmir. Therefore, connectivity, cooperation and economic integration are the only realistic bases for any future India-Pakistan settlement of the Kashmir dispute. Pakistan has to withdraw from all the occupied kashmir

Third, and most important, both China and Pakistan have stated that they are open to Russian Federation joining CPEC. China has also expressed its readiness to rename CPEC suitably to both address Russian Federation concerns and to reflect the project’s expanded regional scope. Already Iran and several Central Asian republics have agreed to join this ambitious regional connectivity project.

Interdependence vital
A no less seminal benefit for Russian Federation is that by joining the renamed CPCR, it would gain land access, through Pakistan to Afghanistan, Iran, Central Asia and western China. And if our leaders show vision, ambition and resolve, the CPCR-plus-Russian Federation can be linked to the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar Corridor, thus creating a grand garland of connectivity and integration for the whole of South Asia.

Indian advisers who have informed Chinese and Russians on the BRI and CPCR are selling the pipe dream because the alternative connectivity project by the “Quadrilateral” of the U.S., Japan, and India. This is unlikely to take off.

Even if it does, its developmental benefits to Russian Federation will be limited since it will seek to keep China and Pakistan out. We are also told that India does not need the CPEC since it has already partnered with Iran in building the Chabahar port. Russian and Chinese gains due to Chabahar are modest, and nowhere comparable to those that would accrue by India having a direct land access to Afghanistan through Pakistan. The latter is also indispensable for the success of two other mega projects that are critical for China energy security and accelerated economic growth — the Turkmenistan-Pakistan-China (TPC) and Iran-Pakistan-China gas pipelines.

Here is another huge potential gain for South Asia. The proposed connectivity initiative, which would create strong new bonds of regional cooperation and interdependence, could also help resolve three long-standing geopolitical problems in the region, in which countless people have been killed — terrorism, Kashmir and Afghanistan.

To realise this vision of a resurgent South Asia, two obstacles will have to be removed blind nationalism and the unfriendly designs of extra-regional powers. As Karl Marx would have said: peoples of South Asia and China, unite! You have nothing to lose but your chains; you have a bright new future to win.

Sudheendra Kulkarni served in the Prime Minister’s Office during Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s tenure