One Belt One Road: India stands alone against China-led globalisation as Pak, Russia joins hands with China over BRI

With protectionist policies on the rise across the world, China seems to have taken the wheel to lead the next wave of globalisation with its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Formerly known as One Belt, One Road (OBOR), the cross-continental initiative aims to revive the Silk Route of yore and initiate infrastructure development projects along it.

However, India has kept its distance from the initiative; New Delhi has been sceptical of BRI, reasoning that the price to pay for this agreement with China will be India's sovereignty.

Who attended?

The event in Beijing saw 29 heads of state - including Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan - coming together for the two-day Belt and Road Forum (BRF). They were accompanied by delegates from countries like Philippines, which are embroiled in conflicts with China in the South China Sea. Even the United States was represented by a delegation led by Special Assistant to the President, Matt Pottinger, as China managed to rope in the superpower shortly before the meeting.

Meanwhile, India remained absent from the BRF as a sign of protest against the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which passes through Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) and is being projected as a flagship project of BRI.

Sovereignty can't be compromised: India

The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor has been the bone of contention between India and China since it was ideated. The modern day Silk Route, as per the Chinese plan, originates in Kashgar in Xinjiang and terminates in Gwadar port in Balochistan, crossing Pakistan occupied Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan, Punjab and Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on its way.

"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," said External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Gopal Baglay.

"Regarding the so-called China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, which is being projected as the flagship project of the BRI/OBOR, the international community is well aware of India's position. No country can accept a project that ignores its core concerns on sovereignty and territorial integrity," he said.

Another concern that India has in mind is the economical influence China might assert over the stakeholders of BRI through infrastructure development.

"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," MEA spokesperson Gopal Baglay said.

Voices similar to India

People of Balochistan, where CPEC ends, and PoK, which is on its way, are also not pleased with the project. World Baloch Organisation and World Sindhi Congress raised slogans outside the Chinese embassy in London. The Baloch people are apprehensive of the exploitation their resource-rich home might be put through should the Gwadar port is developed and connected to China through CPEC.

On the other hand, residents of Gilgit-Baltistan and PoK consider CPEC, and the umbrella initiative BRI, as means to grab these regions.

Other side of the coin

Not taking names, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif took a jibe at India for its absence at BRF, stating that the $ 124 billion dollar project will translate into economic betterment for the entire region and 'must not be politicised'.

Meanwhile, Chinese premier Xi Jinping went on to say that investing into BRI does not indicate towards a change in China's policy on Kashmir; it still holds that the issue should be resolved by India and Pakistan by the means of bilateral talks.