In recent times, it has been said that, India by joining China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) would accrue immense benefits for itself along with South Asia. Do you agree with that view? Comment (200 words)
Refer – The Hindu
Enrich the answer from other sources, if the question demands.
IAS Parliament 6 years
KEY POINTS
Benefits for India & South Asia
· CPEC would benefit India by gaining land access, through Pakistan, to Afghanistan, Iran, Central Asia and western China.
· If the CPEC-plus-India can be linked to the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar (BCIM) Corridor, it will create a grand garland of connectivity and integration for the whole of South Asia.
· It would create strong new bonds of regional cooperation and interdependence which helps in resolving three long-standing geopolitical problems in the region — Terrorism, Kashmir and Afghanistan.
Breach of sovereignty
· Though India can accrue immense benefits from CPEC, it opposed the project on the ground that the CPEC violates India’s sovereignty since it passes through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
Arguments in favour of joining CPEC
· First of all, India’s opposition to CPEC undermines India’s long-term development and security interests.
· Also, CPEC does not recognise PoK to be Pakistan’s sovereign territory.
· China-Pakistan boundary agreement 1963, clearly states 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.”
· Meanwhile, connectivity, cooperation and economic integration are the only realistic bases for any future India-Pakistan settlement of the Kashmir dispute.
· Additionally, both the China and Pakistan have stated that they are open to India joining CPEC. China has also expressed its readiness to rename CPEC suitably to both address India’s concerns and to reflect the project’s expanded regional scope.
· CPEC is indispensable for the success of two other mega projects that are critical for India’s energy security and accelerated economic growth — the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) and Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) gas pipelines.
Superior among other alternatives
· The alternative for the CPEC, put forward by the “Quadrilateral” of the U.S., Japan, Australia and India will be limited since it will seek to keep China and Pakistan out.
· There are also arguments that, India does not need the CPEC since it has already partnered with Iran in building the Chabahar port.
· India’s 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, via CPEC.
