India yet again refused to extend support to China's mega connectivity project OBOR or One Belt One Road initiative at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization or SCO. Reiterating its stance yet again only country in the 8 member grouping, India refused to support the project due to the lack of transparency and high cost for the host country.
The joint statement after India hosted SCO Heads of Government meet said, "The Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the Russian Federation, the Republic of Tajikistan and the Republic of Uzbekistan, reaffirming their support for China’s "One Belt, One Road” (OBOR) Initiative (BRI)." India always stayed away from supporting OBOR in previous SCO meets. India had become a member of the Beijing headquartered grouping in 2017. A part of One Belt One Road is the CPEC or China Pakistan economic corridor, which passes through PoK or Pakistani occupied Kashmir.
India has protested againstCPEC with Beijing on OBOR for its violation of territorial integrity and asked them to cease such activities. The connectivity projects should "follow principles of openness, transparency and financial responsibility", highlighted the Indian government. OBOR reportedly is associated with China's debt diplomacy and causes debt issues in many countries. To be noted, ‘EU-China- A Strategic Outlook’ a report by the European commission on March 2019 points out how Chinese investments in third countries have neglected socioeconomic and financial sustainability and may result in high-level indebtedness. In few countries, it leads to control transfer over strategic assets and resources.
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