ISLAMABAD – Pakistan’s Foreign Office spokesman, during his last week’spress briefing, made it just clear that the China Pakistan EconomicCorridor (CPEC) had no military dimensions. “The CPEC is a bilateraleconomic project, which is not against any country”, he further clarified.He was commenting on a report published in a leading US newspaper allegingthat the CPEC was not about economy and trade but had military dimensionsas well. No doubt, there are strong military ties between China andPakistan. The CPEC, however, has nothing to do with these ties. Both‘all-weather’ friends have been enjoying close diplomatic, strategic andmilitary relations for decades, independent of, and prior to, the CPECproject. China and Pakistan, being two sovereign states, have the right tofoster strong economic and military relations in accordance with theirnational interests. Therefore, any regional or global power is by no meansjustified in unnecessarily objecting to this bilateral relationship.

Last week, Chinese embassy in Pakistan also refuted another media reportwhich claimed that Pakistan would pay $40 billion to china in 20 years inshape of repayments of debt and dividends on Chinese investment underflagship CPEC. The embassy issued a statement that the Chinese governmentprovided concessional loans of $5.874 billion for Pakistan’s transportationinfrastructure projects, with a composite interest rate of around 2 percent in a repayment period of 20-25 years. The embassy also clarified thatall the CPEC energy projects are investments in nature and the companiesare responsible for their own profits and losses and repayments of loan.Therefore, both of the latest media reports on the CPEC are wrong andmisleading, which appear to be only aimed at making the CPEC projectcontroversial.

As a matter of fact, there has been a systematic and persistent propagandacampaign against the CPEC since this project was formally announced inApril 2015. Ever since, this mega project has also been the subject ofnumerous conspiracies and controversies, both domestically andinternationally. In order to dispel similar domestic controversies,Pakistan had to conceive and announced the idea of the “Western Route” ofthe CPEC in addition to some Special Economic Zones (SEZs) along the CPECroute in different provinces in the country. Noticeably, a section ofnational media, and various so-called nationalist political parties andpressure groups have also been the ardent critic of this mega economicproject.

Terrorism has been a major tool to sabotage the ‘game changing’ CPECproject. We have observed a significant surge in the terror attacks acrossthe country following the formal launch of this project. The province ofBalochistan, which occupies a pivotal position in the entire CPEC projectowing to deep-sea Gwadar Port, instantly became the hotbed of terrorism,militancy and insurgency. This troubled province has experienced most ofthe worst terror attacks in Pakistan during the last couple of years.According to official statistics, there have been some 1860 terroristincidents in Balochistan during the last 7 years, leaving more than 2300people dead and many more injured. In this respect, Quetta, Mastung,Awaran, Khuzdar and Dera Bugti were the worst affected districts in theprovince. Gilgit-Baltistan, which hosts another important segment of theCPEC route, has also been under attacks by the terrorists. This regionexperienced the unfortunate 2013 Nanga Parbat massacre where 10 foreigntourists were shot dead. A large number of schools have also been torchedby miscreants in this region. Many Chinese nationals, engineers andworkers, who were working to complete various CPEC projects in Pakistan,have also been attacked and killed. The recent terror attack on ChineseConsulate in Karachi is also being viewed as a conspiracy to sabotage CPEC.

The United States and India, the two strategic allies in the post-9/11 era,are particularly known for their strong opposition to the CPEC as well asan anti-CPEC hostile propaganda. Both countries have lunched a proactivediplomatic and media campaign against the CPEC for the last few years. Wehave noticed Indian PM Modi’s persistent anxiety over the CPEC project. Hehas openly hinted at supporting the separatist elements in Balochistan andGilgit-Baltistan. In May 2015, he readily visited China to persuade theChinese government to abandon this project by maintain that the CPEC routewas passing through the disputed territory of Gilgit-Baltistan. During theG-20 summit at Hangzhou in China in September 2016, PM Modi had expressedIndia’s concerns over the CPEC in his bilateral meeting with ChinesePresident, holding that the two countries needed to be “sensitive” to eachother’s strategic interests. In October 2017, the Trump administration toldthe Senate Armed Services Committee that CPEC was passing through adisputed territory. Similarly, a senior Trump administration official hasrecently also remarked that the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) “is a madein China, made for China” initiative.

Substantially shifting the focus of US foreign policy from the Middle Eastto the East Asia, the Obama administration ambitiously launched its ‘pivotto Asia’ regional strategy in 2012. Under this US foreign policyinitiative, the US will endeavour to increasingly relocate its extensivemilitary and economic resources in the Asia Pacific region, realising theutmost economic, political and military significance of this region in thetwenty-first century. This US regional strategy includes actions likeengaging with regional multilateral organisations, strengthening bilateralsecurity alliances, forging an active broad-based military presence,deepening relationship with emerging powers, expanding trade andinvestment, and advancing democracy and human rights in the region.

There is a general perception that the US pivot to Asia strategy is nothingbut another important tool of its so-called China containment policy inthis region. It only aims at minimising or undermining the rising economicand political influence of China in the world. At present, the US economyis in trouble on account of the current global financial crisis and anumber of domestic economic constraints. The long-term viability of the USeconomic model is also being questioned. Therefore, the US is wary of therapidly growing Chinese economy, which already has become world’s largesteconomy in terms of Purchasing Power Parity (PPP). China has also becomethe global hub for manufacturing, and the largest manufacturing economy aswell as the largest export of goods in the world.

Besides the East Asia, the South Asian region has also become the primaryhub of US extensive strategic manoeuvring in Asia over a period of time.Therefore, notwithstanding its typical ‘pivot to Asia’ strategy, South Asiais now playing a pivotal role in articulating and realising US strategicgoals in the region. Bordering China, Iran, and Central Asian Republics,South Asia is bounded on the south by the Indian Ocean, which provides themajor sea route connecting the Middle East, Africa, and Europe to East Asiaand Australia. Thus this region is central to the so-called One Belt, OneRoad plan. The flagship OBOR project of China Pakistan Economic Corridor(CPEC) is also located in this region. Therefore, South Asia is by no meansstrategically less important to the US than East Asia.

India and Afghanistan have occupied a central position in the US ‘pivot toSouth Asia’ strategy. On the pretext of fighting its War on Terror, the UShas been staying in Afghanistan since 2001. Ever since, it has spent itsenormous economic and military resources apparently to stabilise thevolatile Hindukush state. However, its broader strategic interests demandits active presence in the region. The US has greatly helped Indiaconsolidate its position in Afghanistan. Now India is ambitiously desirousof replacing the US in Afghanistan as its ‘successor in interest’ in theregion after the US exits Afghanistan. India, Afghanistan and Iran havealso signed a tripartite agreement to develop Iranian Chabahar port and alinked trade corridor. Many believe that the primary objective of thisproject is to undermine the strategic importance and relevance ofPakistan’s Gwadar port.

At the moment, Pakistan’s strategic, security and economic interestsobservably converge with that of China in this region. Both countries willcertainly benefit from the CPEC. Therefore, both countries are currentlydetermined to actively protect their shared interests. To provide securityto Chinese nationals working on the CPEC project in Pakistan, Pakistan Armyhas already established a Special Security Division (SPD), comprising some15 thousand security personnel. Indeed, Pakistan and China need to be moreactive, vigilant and cautious to counter all CPEC-related controversies andconspiracies being hatched in the region and beyond.

BY: Mohsin Raza Malik, The writer is a lawyer and columnist based in Lahore.