One Belt One Road: US backs India, says it crosses ‘disputed’ territory

Washington: Backing India on ‘One Belt One Road (OBOR)’, the Trump administration said the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) passes through a “disputed territory” and no country should “put itself into a position of dictating” the Belt and Road initiative.

According to NDTV, in May this year, India had skipped the Belt and Road Forum (BRF), due to its sovereignty concerns over the nearly $60 billion CPEC, a flagship project of China’s prestigious One Belt One Road (OBOR), which passes through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, today appeared to be a strong opponent of China’s ambitious OBOR initiative. Last week on a trip to India, he had met his counterpart Nirmala Sitharaman and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

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“In a globalised world, there are many belts and many roads, and no one nation should put itself into a position of dictating ‘One Belt, One Road’,” Secretary Mattis told members of the Senate Armed Services Committee during a Congressional hearing.

“That said, the One Belt One Road also goes through the disputed territory, and I think, that in itself shows the vulnerability of trying to establish that sort of a dictate,” he said apparently referring to India’s position on CPEC while answering a question from Senator Charles Peters over OBOR.

“The One Belt One Road strategy seeks to secure China’s control over both the continental and the maritime interest, in their eventual hope of dominating Eurasia and exploiting natural resources there, things that are certainly at odds with US policy. So what role do you see China playing in Afghanistan, and particularly related to their One Belt One Road,” Senator Peter had asked.