Fast forwards

Opportunities presented by our relationship with China stretch to a future that is at least a generation long.

To even the most casual of observers of the geopolitical landscape, it is obvious that there are fundamental changes afoot. The great powers are realigning themselves and lesser powers are, in the vernacular, ‘considering their positions.’ Whilst it is a cliché to say that the Old Order is changing it is also a profound truth, and Pakistan finds itself as one of the hinges on which several doors currently swing, the largest of which being China. The opportunities presented by our evolving relationship with China are vast and stretch into a future that is at least a generation long. China is developing as a global power in economic terms and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is at the heart of that, but it is also expanding militarily as it seeks to protect its overseas assets in Africa and the subcontinent.



A report has been published by the Pentagon which predicts that China is going to expand its global military presence by the building of bases in overseas nations and that may include Pakistan. Our two countries have similar strategic interests and the possibility of a Chinese built and run military facility, probably on the Makran coast, has long been recognised as a possibility if not a probability. It would fit with the ‘One belt, one road’ Chinese project — of which CPEC is but a small part — and the Pentagon is less than delighted at the prospect.

The Chinese response to the report is critical. They are particularly exercised by the American concerns — and activities — surrounding the Spratly Islands, long a bone of contention, and a dispute far from our shores or interests. No such territorial dispute colours the Pak-China relationship indeed there is an enduring mutuality about it, much to the chagrin of India that has its own concerns about the Chinese efforts in and with Pakistan. The Americans are also eyeing the ‘string of pearls’ that China is constructing from Myanmar westwards, land assets in support of trade and naval operations. What is increasingly evident and widely felt are the growing pains of a New World Order. Deftly handled Pakistan is a long-term beneficiary of the reshuffle, a game we cannot afford to lose.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 9^th, 2017.

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