ISLAMABAD – The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is a megaconnectivity project being constructed with the Chinese investment of $ 46billion, which has now been raised to $ 52 billion.
The project is a network of roads, railways and optical fibre line laying,along with the construction of energy pipelines and industrial zones. Anagreement between Pakistan and China to jointly construct the CPEC wassigned in April 2015 and the construction started shortly after the signingof the agreement. This is a regional connectivity project initiated aspart of China’s Belt and Road (B&R) grand project, to connect the Khashgarcity of Western China with the Gwadar port city of Pakistan. It is aflagship project of the B&R that also includes the construction andexpansion of airports and seaports.
The CPEC passes through Pakistan and it will interconnect China, Pakistan,South Asia, Central Asia, West Asia, the Middle East, North Africa, Russiaand other Eurasian countries. The project is part of the Chinese currentphilosophy of shared development of China and the neighbouring regionsbased on the concept of shared destinies.
The CPEC is purely an economic project meant to bring prosperity to Chinaand other countries being mutually connected through a ground route. Thisroute will reduce the distance for trade from China to the above mentionedregions and vice-versa by about 10000 kilometres if we compare it with theexisting sea route passing through Mallaca Straits.
In a nutshell the CPEC project is being termed as a game changer for theregion as it will positively impact the economy of Pakistan and otherdeveloping countries in the region by enhancing economic growth throughforeign investment and enhancement of trade.In this respect, South Asiancountries including Pakistan and India are expected to be the majorbeneficiaries of the CPEC.
Despite economic orientation of the CPEC project and disregarding itsfuture economic benefits to India with respect to cheaper trade withCentral Asia and West Asia, India is opposing it on flimsy grounds that itpasses through Gilgit-Baltistan, being part of the disputed former princelystate of Jammu and Kashmir, which India falsely claims.This objection hasbeen raised by Prime Minister Modi, Indian Foreign Ministry officials andIndian Army chief, General Bipin Rawat, through their statements.
This Indian stance is untenable because the United Nations Security Council(UNSC) has decided through its resolutions of 1948/49 about the Jammu andKashmir dispute between Pakistan and India that the dispute should beresolved by ascertaining will of the people of the state to decide whetherthey wanted the state to join Pakistan or India. And while Pakistan hasbeen more than willing to hold the plebiscite under UNSC supervision, Indiahas been denying it.To establish its claim over Jammu and Kashmir, whyIndia does not immediately agree for holding a plebiscite as per UNSCresolutions.
In fact India is opposing the CPEC to deny its economic benefits toPakistan and deny China an access to the Indian Ocean through Gawadarbypassing Mallaca Straits. India too does not require that other SouthAsian states should benefit from CPEC to keep them under its hegemony.
In this context, in view of its strategic and defence alignment with the USto contain China, being a part of USA’s Indo-Pacific policy and itsencouragement by the US to attain influence in Afghanistan, India sees anopportunity to harm Pakistan’s economic and security stakes.
It does not want that due to CPEC related economic benefits, Pakistanshould become an economically strong state, therefore enabling it towithstand Indian hegemony. It also suits India to counter China’sincreasing influence in Afghanistan and South Asia with the help of the US,to keep the region under its influence.
In view of the above, it can be concluded that India will continue tocreate challenges for the construction and smooth operation of the CPEC bysponsoring terrorism in Pakistan using Afghan soil to disturb the Chineseworking here. India will also wish and struggle to create political discordand engineer a 1971 like situation in Balochistan with the support of someforeign powers to fail the CPEC.
In this context, it is likewise appropriate to state that India willcontinue to feed engineered intelligence to Afghanistan and the US to blamePakistan for supporting terrorism in Afghanistan to keep Pakistan’srelations strained with the US and Afghanistan. It will also struggle tosupport those forces in and outside Afghanistan, that want to spoil peaceefforts and perpetuate instability in Afghanistan for their vestedinterests.
In view of the foregoing, to complete the CPEC successfully to reap itseconomic and security related benefits, Pakistan will have to adopt wellconsidered foreign and domestic policies to counter Indian challenges tothe CPEC.
tags: CPEC
By: Colonel (R) Muhammad Hanif