India skips China's OBOR summit in Beijing - Here's why

New Delhi: After making its displeasure clear over Chinese flagship project 'One Belt, One Road' (OBOR) citing that the project ignores core concerns on sovereignty and territorial integrity, New Delhi officially skipped the event honoring the project in Beijing.

The OBOR forum, which is scheduled to be held in Beijing from May 14 to May 16, is being attended by 29 nations, including all South Asian nations, except India, as it has not sent representatives to the event.

"We are of firm belief that connectivity initiatives must be based on universally recognised international norms, good governance, rule of law, openness, transparency and equality," Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) official spokesperson Gopal Baglay said in a press conference yesterday.

"Connectivity projects must be pursued in a manner that respects sovereignty and territorial integrity," he added.

Baglay said India has been urging China to engage in a meaningful dialogue on its connectivity initiative.

"We are awaiting a positive response from the Chinese side," he added.

India has been opposed to the inclusion of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) under the OBOR initiative. It's reported that a part of the project passes through the Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK).

The USD 51 billion CPEC project is a collection of infrastructure projects currently under construction throughout Pakistan. Several infrastructure projects would be undertaken in various provinces in Pakistan, including the Gilgit-Baltistan area, which falls in the PoK.