BEIJING, Jan 14 (APP): Indian Army Chief’s hype over Shaksgam Valley region reflected India’s erroneous view on the China-India boundary and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, which in essence is an attempt to oppose the Belt and Road Initiative on the pretext of so-called sovereignty disputes.
Qian Feng, director of the research department at the National Strategy Institute at Tsinghua University, told the Global Times on Wednesday
He said that as major neighboring countries, China and India have reached a clear consensus at the leadership level that the two sides should enable each other’s development, view each other not as threats but as partners, and work toward mutual success.
On the same occasion, however, the Indian army chief also hyped the Shaksgam Valley issue.
Another consideration for his claims, the expert said, is that March marks the beginning of India’s new fiscal year budget cycle, and the Army Chief may be speaking out to secure a larger share of defense spending, especially as India’s defense resources in recent years have increasingly tilted toward the navy and air force.
With overall improvements in bilateral relations between China and India, the priority should be to properly manage the border situation and enhance mutual trust, Qian said, urging the Indian side to do more to build confidence, rather than making irresponsible remarks that interfere with the thawing of bilateral ties.
Launched in 2013, CPEC, a flagship project of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, is a corridor linking Gwadar Port in Pakistan with Kashgar in Northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, which highlights energy, transport, and industrial cooperation in the first phase, while in the new phase, it expands to fields of agriculture and livelihood, among others.
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