- Friday, April 19, 2024
By: Shubham Ghosh
AN Indian diplomat’s mike curiously went silent when she was voicing a strong opposition to China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and its flagship project – CPEC (China Pakistan Economic Corridor) – at the just concluded second United Nations Sustainable Transport Conference in Beijing.
The sudden “mike failure” at the meet hosted by China between October 14 and 16 created a flutter and took several moments to restore. Even the video of the next speaker started playing but it was halted by UN under-secretary-general Liu Zhenmin, the former vice foreign minister of China who asked Priyanka Sohoni, the second secretary of the Indian Embassy in Beijing, to continue her speech.
He apologised after the mike system was restored saying, “Dear participants, we are sorry. We are confronting some technical problems and played the video of the next speaker. I am sorry for that” and urged Sohoni to resume her speech.
“You are lucky..You are back and welcome back,” he told Sohoni following which the latter continued her speech without interruption.
“We share the international community’s desire for enhancing physical connectivity and believe it should bring greater economic benefits to all in an equitable and balanced manner,” Sohoni said.
“Expansion and strengthening of physical connectivity is an integral part of India’s economic and diplomatic initiatives,” she added.
“There have been some references to the Belt and Road Initiative or BRI at this conference. Here, I wish to say that as far as China’s BRI is concerned, we are uniquely affected by it. It’s inclusion of the so-called China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) as a flagship project impinges on India’s sovereignty,” the Indian diplomat said.
The BRI is a multi-billion-dollar initiative launched by Chinese President Xi Jinping when he came to power in 2013 and aims to enhance China’s influence and link Southeast Asia, Central Asia, the Gulf region, Africa and Europe with a network of land and sea routes.
The $60 billion CPEC, which connects Gwadar Port in Pakistan’s Balochistan with China’s Xinjiang province, is the flagship project of the BRI. New Delhi has been vocally objecting to China over the CPEC as it is being laid through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). Beijing has been playing down India’s objections, saying it is an economic initiative and has not affected its principled stand on the Kashmir issue.
“No country can support an initiative that ignores its core concerns on sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Sohoni said, adding, “This aside there are also larger issues regarding how connectivity initiatives should be pursued. We are of the firm belief that connectivity initiatives must be based on universally recognised international norms,” she said.
Earlier, a Pakistani diplomat showered praise on the BRI and its flagship project CPEC, terming it as a “game-changer” for the region.
