Alone in qingdao

Alone in qingdao

India’s refusal to endorse China’s BRI protects its interests and negotiating position.

India stood out – and stood its ground – at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in China’s Qingdao, as it refrained from endorsing Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) of transnational connectivity. This was the first time India was attending the SCO meet as a full member, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi reiterated the need to respect sovereignty in dealing with infrastructure projects. Since a section of BRI passes through Pakistan occupied Kashmir, Modi’s statement reinforced India’s red line on sovereignty.

True, all other SCO members endorsed BRI at Qingdao. But this shouldn’t be read as India getting isolated. India needs to stand up for its own interests, which nobody else is going to articulate on its behalf. After all BRI in its present form impinges on India’s sovereignty claims vis-à-vis Kashmir, and both China and its ally Pakistan are very strong when it comes to articulating sovereignty claims against India. There is no benefit to India unilaterally standing down, without reciprocal concessions. Plus, as highlighted by New Delhi before, the Chinese transnational infrastructure project remains opaque with huge financial burdens for recipient nations. In fact, the terms of the proposed projects are so loaded in China’s favour that they have raised suspicions Beijing is trying to export the enormous domestic debt under which its economy is labouring, through BRI.

If Beijing is really keen on securing India’s support for BRI, it must also see a few things from New Delhi’s perspective. If connectivity is the agenda here, Pakistan is a big hurdle to India’s ambitions. Islamabad blocks New Delhi’s access to Afghanistan and central Asia, and sponsors terrorism in Kashmir. Meanwhile, the India-China equation too is plagued by distrust – exacerbated by the 73-day Doklam standoff last year. Even if India accepts BRI, what is to prevent Doklam from happening again?

Unless these core issues are addressed, New Delhi must also stick to its red lines. China could use its influence over Pakistan to get it to crack down on anti-India terrorism. Similarly, China should resolve its boundary dispute with India along the lines of the present Line of Actual Control. China would also do well to drop barriers to Indian pharma, IT and agricultural exports. Such measures along with greater communication between the two sides – like the Modi-Xi Jinping informal summit at Wuhan – will certainly mitigate.