UNITED NATIONS: China's "One Belt, One Road" project that includes the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) through Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) has received backing by being mentioned in a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolution, likely raising concerns in India that has expressed strong reservations about the plan.

As the UNSC on Friday adopted a resolution to extend the mandate of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) by one year, the text called on countries to "strengthen the process of regional economic cooperation, including measures to facilitate regional connectivity, trade and transit, including through regional development initiatives such as the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road (the Belt and Road) Initiative", the Indian media reported.

It also mentioned other "regional development projects", such as the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (Tapi) gas pipeline project, the Central Asia South Asia Electricity Transmission and Trade Project (CASA-1000), Chabahar port project, agreed between Afghanistan, India and the Islamic Republic of lran.

Chinese diplomats have portrayed the reference to the Belt and Road and a "community of shared destiny", both of which are Xi Jinping's pet initiatives, as a victory of sorts, hailing it as a first for China's diplomacy.

The state-run Xinhua news agency reported that "after the council's unanimous adoption of the resolution, Liu Jieyi, the Chinese permanent representative to the United Nations, told reporters here that the Chinese concept was put into a Security Council resolution for the first time on Friday, thus "showing the consensus of the international community on embracing the concept, and manifesting huge Chinese contributions to the global governance".

Liu said the move would be "conducive to creating a favourable atmosphere for China to host a Belt and Road forum for international cooperation in Beijing this May in order to brainstorm on interconnected development".

China is in May expecting more than a dozen world leaders and representatives from many of the hundred international bodies and countries that China says have backed the plan. Beijing had also invited Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the summit. He will not attend, as he will be travelling to China later this year in September for the Brics Summit.

Moreover, India has also expressed reservations about the One Belt, One Road. Indian officials have publicly described it as a "national initiative" of China, saying it hence didn't require endorsement from India or other countries.

India has also told China, most recently during last month's Strategic Dialogue in Beijing, that while it was in favour of connectivity projects, CPEC, which China has billed as a flagship of the Belt and Road, violated India's sovereignty as it passes through AJK.

UNSC resolution backs China's 'Belt and Road' despite PoK corridor

Ananth Krishnan | Posted by Mohak Gupta

March 18, 2017 | UPDATED 20:05 IST

http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/unsc-china-belt-road-pok-corridor/1/907248.html

HIGHLIGHTS

• 1

  China's "One Belt, One Road" that includes corridor through (PoK) has received backing by UNSC.
• 2

  The text called on countries to "strengthen the process of regional economic cooperation".
• 3

  India has expressed reservations about One Belt, One Road.

China's "One Belt, One Road" project that includes a corridor through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) has received unlikely backing by being mentioned in a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolution, likely raising concerns in India that has expressed strong reservations about the plan.

As the UNSC on Friday adopted a resolution to extend the mandate of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) by one year, the text called on countries to "strengthen the process of regional economic cooperation, including measures to facilitate regional connectivity, trade and transit, including through regional development initiatives such as the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road (the Belt and Road) Initiative".

It also mentioned other "regional development projects", such as the Turkmenistan- Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline project, the Central Asia South Asia Electricity Transmission and Trade Project (CASA-1000), the Chabahar port project, agreed between Afghanistan, India and the Islamic Republic of lran."

Also Read: China silent on link to Pakistan's new Gilgit ploy

Chinese diplomats have portrayed the reference to the Belt and Road and a "community of shared destiny", both of which are Xi Jinping's pet initiatives, as a victory of sorts, hailing it as a first for China's diplomacy.

The State-run Xinhua news agency reported that "after the council's unanimous adoption of the resolution, Liu Jieyi, the Chinese permanent representative to the United Nations, told reporters here that the Chinese concept was put into a Security Council resolution for the first time on Friday, thus showing the consensus of the international community on embracing the concept, and manifesting huge Chinese contributions to the global governance".

Liu said the move would be "conducive to creating a favourable atmosphere for China to host a Belt and Road forum for international cooperation in Beijing this May in order to brainstorm on interconnected development."

China is in May expecting more than a dozen world leaders and representatives from many of the hundred international bodies and countries that China says have backed the plan.

Beijing had also invited Prime Minister Modi for the summit. He will not attend, as he will be travelling to China later this year in September for the BRICS Summit.

Also Read: China pledges firm response if Japan interferes in South China Sea

Moreover, India has also expressed reservations about One Belt, One Road. Indian officials have publicly described it as a "national initiative" of China, saying it hence didn't require endorsement from India or other countries.

India has also told China, most recently during last month's Strategic Dialogue in Beijing, that while it was in favour of connectivity projects, the China Pakistan Economic Corridor, which China has billed as a flagship of the Belt and Road, violated India's sovereignty as it passes through PoK.

Also Watch: India and China strategic dialogue begins in Beijing; foreign secretaries discuss bilateral issues