19 Jun 2009,
NEW DELHI: In a move which can open up old wounds in India, China has come down heavily on Asian Development Bank (ADB) for approving a $2.9 billion loan to India which, it said, meant interference in the political affairs between the two countries. Beijing was earlier said to have opposed the loan to India mainly because it included $60 million funding for a watershed project in Arunachal Pradesh, the state around which most of the Sino-Indian border disputes are centred.
The Chinese foreign office said in a statement that the adoption of the India Country Partnership Strategy (2009-2012) completely disregarded Beijing's concerns as "it involves disputed territories between China and India".
"China expresses strong dissatisfaction to the move, which can neither change the existence of immense territorial disputes between China and India, nor China's fundamental position on its border issues with India," said the statement.
ADB gave the go-ahead to the project on Monday after having postponed the approval for several months apparently because of the objections raised by China. The total $2.9 billion package covers the period from 2009 to 2012.
"As a regional institution on development, the ADB should not intervene in the political affairs of its members. The adoption of the document has not only dealt a severe blow to its own reputation but also undermines the interests of its members," it added, while urging ADB to take effective measures to eliminate the "terrible impact" of the decision.
On China-India border issues, it said that Beijing always believes that the two sides should seek a fair and equitable solution acceptable to both through bilateral negotiation.
ADB had earlier said that the Country Strategy for India covers the 2009-12 period and has been formulated in line with India's development priorities as set out in its 11th Five-Year Plan and is congruent with ADB's Strategy 2020.
In March, ADB had to postpone the board's discussion on the country partnership strategy for India at the request of China, which was upset by the inclusion of the watershed development project in Arunachal Pradesh in the plan.
However, last month, the agency made it clear that differences between India and China will have no bearing on ADB's lending plans to India saying the bank does not interfere in the political affairs of any member.
As India tries to strengthen its defences alongside the border with China, it is becoming increasingly clear that Beijing has been rattled by the exercise which includes deploying more men in the border areas. The Chinese media too in the past few weeks has attacked India for causing fresh strains in the ties even though, according to these reports, India lags far behind China in terms of status and say in international matters. In a recent poll conducted by a news agency in China, 74% of the respondents in fact said that they looked upon India as a threat to China.
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