In what was viewed as a thinly veiled swipe at China, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar urged the Members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) to work together to promote stability and prosperity in the region by “strictly adhering to the principles of international law, respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of each other and encouraging economic cooperation”.
Jaishankar’s remarks came as he addressed the 22nd session of the Council of Heads of Government of SCO at Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. Significantly, at China-led SCO, Jaishankar batted for debt-free connectivity projects for the “Global South”. The timing of EAM Jaishankar’s remark indirectly criticising China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) could not have been better than this. Over the past two days, state-controlled media in China was teeming with reports eulogising Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiatives (BRI) and China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). For example, an article in a Chinese daily recently said that “BRI’s role as a global public good should be maximised.”
China is trying to rope in economists from across the globe who could write articles admiring BRI. The CPEC is the flagship project of BRI. It was nothing but a well-calculated attempt by the Chinese government to highlight CPEC as a project which is going to bring prosperity to Pakistan which would be good for the citizens of the country. While the Chinese media was full of reports on this line over the past week, Pakistan caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar on Wednesday spoke highly of China and its BRI and CPEC. He said that the recent agreements between China and Pakistan would add a new chapter to CEPC.
After meeting with Chinese Ambassador Jiang Zaidong, the Pakistani PM said that BRI was the guarantor of the development and prosperity of the region. By all indications, it was China’s plan to send out a positive message on its BRI and CPEC projects ahead of the SCO meeting in Kyrgyzstan. What is understandable is that after India’s criticism of BRI on various platforms, China is running a campaign to ensure that the global community appreciates Xi Jinping’s ambitious initiative. Countries such as Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bangladesh are being pressured to shower praise on BRI initiatives.
China is trying to portray its BRI initiatives as a growth-oriented idea ahead of implementing the plan to extend CPEC to Afghanistan so that it can draw approval from at least some global quarters. It is against this backdrop that Jaishankar’s thinly veiled criticism of China’s ambitious BRI at the forum of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Bishkek should be seen as a well-timed move. He categorically said that such initiatives should not ignore core concerns on sovereignty and territorial integrity of all nations. Jaishankar had a point when he immediately said that the India-Middle-East-Europe Economic Corridor (IEMC) and the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) could become prosperity enablers. With this, he signalled that India would counter China’s moves to question the objective of projects. In fact, Beijing is upset with IEMC, which is being largely seen as a counter to BRI.
“To improve trade within the region, we need robust connectivity and infrastructure. Such initiatives should respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries. The global South should not be saddled with unviable debt arising from opaque initiatives”. These words from the EAM carried a meaningful message for China on its debt trap diplomacy under the pretext of BRI. The Global South generally refers to countries often characterised as developing, less developed or underdeveloped and mainly located in Africa, Asia and Latin America. India has been opposing China’s BRI as its key project—the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC)—passes through the Indian territory of Jammu and Kashmir under the illegal occupation of Pakistan.
It is a fact that the BRI has brought many countries in Asia and Africa under China’s debt trap. Jaishankar’s statement taking a dig at BRI assumes significance also because China is said to be prepared to repackage this flagship initiative aimed at attracting investment-starved smaller nations in a much bigger way. President Xi Jinping is said to have discussed the strategy with the stakeholders during the third Belt and Road Forum which concluded on 18October in Beijing. Therefore, Jaishankar’s remarks should also be viewed as an indication that India is readying its response and counter to China’s upcoming BRI plan.