Why in News?

• India skipped a meeting of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), which was organised by the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) at Xi’an in China. India has been a member of the SCO since 2017.

Why India Skipped the Event?

• The event was organized to discuss and deliberate upon China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and India is against BRI as it violates its sovereignty.

Belt and Road Initiative:

• It is a mammoth infrastructure project unveiled by China in 2017, which plans to connect the three continents of Asia, Europe, and Africa.
• The ‘Belt’ part refers to the Silk Road Economic Belt, consisting of three overland routes.

1. A link between China, Central Asia, Russia and Europe.
2. A link through Central Asia and West Asia linking China with the Persian Gulf and the Mediterranean Sea.
3. A connection from China to Southeast Asia, South Asia, and the Indian Ocean.

• The ‘Road’ part refers to the 21st century Maritime Silk Road, creating maritime trade channels from China through the South China Sea, the Indian Ocean, and the South Pacific.

India’s Position:

• The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, an important part of the BRI, passes through Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK). India has stated that no country can accept a project that ignores its core concerns on sovereignty and territorial integrity.

About Eurasian Economic Union:

• It is an international organization for regional economic integration.
• Its members include Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan.
• It has international legal personality and is established by the Treaty on the Eurasian Economic Union.
• It has free movement of goods, services and labour.
• It has its own bureaucratic structure.