Statement issued by Shri Jairam Ramesh, MP: According to a news report, the government denied security clearance 2022 to a consortium of APM Terminals Management and Taiwan’s Wan Hai Lines after security agencies discovered a connection between a Wan Hai director and a Chinese firm. This blocked the consortium’s bid to operate a container handling terminal at the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority. It is government policy to prevent Chinese firms and entities with Chinese connections from operating ports and terminals in India.

This raises fresh questions about the Adani Group’s China links. As we have repeatedly pointed out in our Hum Adani ke Hain Kaun (HAHK) series of questions to PM Narendra Modi, the Chinese citizen Chang Chung-Ling is closely associated with the Adani Group. His son owns PMC Projects, a firm that has constructed ports, terminals, rail lines, power lines and other infrastructure assets for the Adani Group. The Adani Group and PMC were alleged to be involved in a Rs 5,500 crore power equipment over-invoicing scam by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence. And the Adani Group has been known to have operated at least two Shanghai-based shipping companies, one of which was involved in the illegal sale of petroleum products to the close China ally North Korea.

Given these close China links, why is the Adani Group being permitted to operate ports in India? Why is it being permitted to buy up port after port, in some cases after raids on previous owners, with no thought to the serious security implications? Sunday, April 9, 2023.