NEW DELHI: Raising the illegal occupation of parts of Jammu and Kashmir by Pakistan, defence minister Rajnath Singh has urged South Korea to block investments in infrastructure and other projects and has conveyed that the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) violates Indian sovereignty.Sources said Singh conveyed India’s concern on South Korean companies setting up projects in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) in his meeting with Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea Lee Nak-yon It is learnt that Korea assured India that it would not grant any government support to its companies operating in PoK as per a change of policy that it implemented in 2014. The Korean side conveyed that government-sponsored benefits like subsidies and tax breaks will not be applicable to its companies setting shop in the disputed region.Singh also explained to Korea the rationale behind the abrogation of J&K’s special status and India’s plans for economic development of the region. As reported by ET, the Indian defence minister also conveyed to Japan that Pakistan has no locus-standi in J&K and that the change in administrative status is aimed to benefit the local population. Singh is on a high-level two nation visit and has also met Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.India has been raising concerns over investments by friendly nations in PoK over the past few years. Reports from Pakistan in January stated that the South Korean ambassador to Pakistan has ‘assured’ that the investments will continue, identifying a power project at Athmuqam in the planning phase.Singh, who delivered the keynote address at the Seoul Defence Dialogue on Thursday, described Korea as a key partner in India’s economic transformation and said that New Delhi has always supported efforts to bring about peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and its denuclearisation through dialogue and diplomacy.The defence minister also called for joint action against terrorism. “It is only through collective action that we will be able to disrupt terror organisations and networks, identify and check the perpetrators, and also take strong measures against those who support and finance terrorism and provide sanctuary to terrorists,” the minister said, in a veiled reference to Pakistan.Singh conveyed India’s position for sovereignty and territorial integrity of all nations in the Indo-Pacific and said that rules and norms have to be based on a consensus. “We advocate an open and inclusive architecture for the Indo-Pacific region, with Asean centrality, equal access to the global commons, freedom of navigation in the seas and in the air, and unimpeded commerce, the importance of connectivity, a rules-based order and dialogue as the means to resolve disputes,” he said.The minister said while India has never been an aggressor in history nor does it seek to, “that does not mean that India would balk at using its strength to defend itself”.