Indian media advises its govt to join CPEC

NEW DELHI: After Lt Gen Aamir Riaz, commander, Southern Command, suggested the Indian government to shun enmity and join the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor a few days ago, the Indian media advised its government to become a part of the project rather than oppose it.

Also on Friday, a Chinese foreign ministry official said the CPEC is an "open initiative" of its One Belt One Road project, but it would consider the possibility of other countries joining it through consensus with Pakistan.

The Hindu, a renowned Indian English daily also saw it that way and advised its government to become a part of the initiative which was commenced in 2015 by Pakistan and China.

For one, the Indian media has highlighted the role of China as a global power and its efforts in redrawing the whole One Belt One Road initiative of China along Central Asia, just to incorporate Pakistan's interests. India has been unsuccessful in pinning Pakistan down as far as terrorism is concerned, with China blocking India's efforts time and again to accuse Pakistan of extending support to terrorist groups.

Also, it was China which thwarted India's efforts to become a member of the Nuclear Suppliers Group. According to The Hindu, not only China but another important player in the region, Iran has expressed the desire for Gwadar to be a 'sister port' to Chabahar. Not only that, several Central Asian states such as Turkmenistan and others want to see Gwadar developed as an important port through which goods can move through Pakistan to the Chinese city of Kashgar.

Noting the importance of the meeting in Moscow among Russian, Chinese and Pakistani officials on Afghanistan this week, the editorial commented this ‘indicate much more is changing in the region than just the alignment of highways and tunnels’.

"India cannot afford to be blindsided by their involvement with the OBOR project and Chinese plans. CPEC is no longer a project in Pakistan, but one that runs through it, a project that will link 64 countries," reads the editorial of The Hindu.

So far, the Indian government has not responded to the offer extended by the Pakistani general but the case made by its media is a stellar one. Quoting the editorial, "CPEC is no longer a project in Pakistan, but one that runs through it, a project that will link 64 countries."