China-Pakistan deal on
economic corridor passing through PoK
Beijing, 23 May, China has indicated it will go ahead with
building infrastructure in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) despite India’s concerns, signing a memorandum of
understanding with Pakistan
on a transport corridor expected to pass through the disputed region. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, who on Thursday
wrapped up a two-day visit to Pakistan following his trip to India, called on
both countries to “start formulating a long-term plan for the China-Pakistan
economic corridor project and gradually push forward its construction”, the
official Xinhua news agency reported. Both countries signed an MoU to cooperate
on a “long-term” plan on the corridor, among 11 agreements announced during Mr.
Li’s visit.
Chinese planners have
called for a transport and economic corridor to link China’s
far-western Xinjiang region to the port
of Gwadar, on the Arabian Sea, which China helped
build and is now managing. The corridor, they hope, will speed up development
in Xinjiang, which has seen intermittent unrest, and also open up a new route
for China’s energy imports
from West Asia. The corridor will pass through
PoK, which borders Xinjiang and provides the only feasible transport link
between China and Pakistan.
While India has made its concerns known over the
projects considering the region’s disputed status, China has appeared to push forward.
China would “step up” its cooperation with Pakistan by “building the oil
pipeline and railroads linking the countries”, Wang Dehua, a South Asia scholar
at the Shanghai Institute for International Studies, told The Global Times, a
Communist Party-run tabloid known for its nationalistic views, on Thursday.
Last year, both
countries completed a pre-feasibility study for a railway line linking Kashgar,
in Xinjiang, to Havelian, running through the Khunjerab Pass
and PoK.
Asked about India’s concerns, Chinese Foreign Ministry
spokesperson Hong Lei said on Thursday, “China’s
position on the Kashmir issue is clear and
consistent”. “We hope India
and Pakistan
can solve the relevant issue through dialogue,” he said. Chinese officials have
made a similar argument to their Indian counterparts when pressed about the
projects.
While Mr. Hong did not
further elaborate China’s
stand, officials had, in the past, described their projects as being carried
out “without prejudice” to disputes between India
and Pakistan.
The projects, they said, were purely commercial, with China not
deviating from its stated position of “neutrality” on the issue. India has rejected that argument, pointing out
that China had itself
expressed strong opposition to Indian cooperation with Vietnam on exploration projects in the waters of
the South China Sea, which are contested by China and a number of other
countries.
The Global Times in an
editorial on Thursday said India
“must accept and adapt” to the friendship between China
and Pakistan as Beijing “cannot scale down
this relationship” to address its concerns.
“India has long been
sensitive to the Sino-Pakistan relationship, even suspecting that China secretly helped Pakistan master nuclear technology.
These suspicions are groundless but cannot easily be dispelled,” the editorial
said.
Source: The Hindu
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