'China Inc in PoK under watch'

India expects more sensitivity from its neighbour, says Rao

New Delhi has identified at least 122 Chinese companies engaged in different projects in PoK and is currently in the process of short-listing those which are also doing or looking for business in India.

Though the government has not yet decided to bar those companies having presence in PoK from doing business in India, it is weighing its options.

“We are certainly looking at certain Chinese companies having projects in PoK and are also working in India. We are deciding what to do,” a highly-placed government official said on Friday.

The companies identified by the government included some infrastructure and telecom biggies too.  New Delhi has since long been conveying its concerns over Chinese companies presence in the PoK to Beijing. The last time it did so was when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh met Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao in Hanoi last October on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit.

The issue is likely to be raised again during Wen’s visit to India this month.

J&K integral part

New Delhi maintains that the entire state of Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India and any project undertaken by Pakistan – either on its own or in cooperation with China –“has no legal basis and is completely unacceptable.” India has also been protesting Chinese involvement in infrastructure and other projects in PoK.

The reports available with the government indicated that the Chinese companies had employed over 11,000 engineers and workers in PoK and were involved in an array of infrastructure projects – ranging from hydro-power projects, roads and bridges and mineral exploration to water diversion channels.

Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao said that India was in favour of a stable and prosperous Pakistan and was not against its western neighbour’s relations with other countries.

“While I agree that relationships between countries are not zero-sum games, we do not hesitate to stress our genuine concerns regarding some aspects of the China-Pakistan relationship particularly when it comes to China’s role in PoK, China’s Jammu and Kashmir policy and the Sino-Pak security and nuclear relationship,” she said.

Rao was delivering the inaugural address at a seminar on China, organised by Delhi-based think-tank Observer Research Foundation.   “The need for mutual sensitivity to each other’s concerns cannot be denied,” she  said.