Headlines
Modi told China, Pakistan economic corridor unacceptable: Sushma
New Delhi, May 31
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
raised "very strongly" the issue of the China-Pakistan economic
corridor during his visit to Beijing and told them that it is
"unacceptable", External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said here on
Sunday.
Answering queries at a press conference, she said the
government had summoned the Chinese envoy over the $46 billion economic
corridor that is to run through Pakistani Kashmir.
She said the
Indian envoy in Beijing had also raised the issue. Chinese President Xi
Jinping had announced the ambitious 3,000 km-long China-Pakistan
Economic Corridor (CPEC) during his visit to Pakistan in April.
"Prime
minster during his visit took up the issue very firmly and spoke very
strongly that the CPEC going through PoK (Pakistan-occupied Kashmir) is
unacceptable," she said.
Very provocative statements from Colombo on fishermen issue: Sushma
India plans to convey to Sri Lanka its concern about the "very provocative" statements emanating from Colombo on the fishermen's issue, which can "vitiate" the atmosphere for talks on the subject, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said on Sunday.Addressing a press conference here on the
NDA government's completion of one year in power, she also dismissed
allegations of lack of transparency in the ties with Sri Lanka.
She said India's proposal for resolving the fishermen's issue has been rejected by Sri Lanka.
"Our
understanding is that it is a livelihood issue, their fishermen come to
our side (territorial waters) to fish, and our fishermen also go to
that side, and then they get arrested. We want to sit with them and
explain that this is a livelihood issue and can be solved only with a
humanitarian approach, not otherwise," said Sushma Swaraj.
She
said sometimes "big statements come from that side". "Sometimes very
provocative statements come. So we plan to sit with them and convey to
them that such provocative statements vitiate the atmosphere and that we
should firstly keep the atmosphere conducive before discussing the
fishermen issue," she said.
She said any talk on the fishermen
issue should be held with the focus that it concerns their livelihood
and it should be treated as a humanitarian issue.
Earlier this
week, the ministry had voiced its displeasure after Sri Lankan Fisheries
Minister Mahinda Amaraweera said Colombo had rejected India's proposal
to allow Indian fishermen to catch fish in Sri Lankan waters for 65 days
a year.
"Not 65 days, we will not agree for even 65 hours," Amaraweera said in Galle.
India had described the minister's remarks as "not helpful".
Earlier,
in March ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Sri Lanka,
the country's Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe had sparked a major
controversy by suggesting that Indian fishermen could be shot if they
intruded into the country's waters.
Sushma Swaraj also denied
allegations of lack of transparency in the bilateral relations with
Colombo, saying both sides have made four visits to each other in three
months. "Four visits in three months, that is obviously because we want
to keep the relationship transparent," she asserted.
Sri Lankan
President Maithripala Sirisena made India the destination of his maiden
overseas visit on February 15 after taking over in January this year, as
did his Foreign Minister, Mangala Samaraweera. Sushma Swaraj visited
the island nation in early March and Modi went a week later.