Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts with the label India-China-Pakistan

CPEC- The opaque view from a Pakistani perspective

Image credits- VOA ( After a break of nearly two months, I am returning to active blogging. To start with, I have decided to deal with CPEC, the most talked about project in South Asia) China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is a collection of projects undertaken by China in Pakistan to connect landlocked Western China to the Arabian sea based Gwadar post in Pakistani Baluchistan.  This includes rapid development of infrastructure including roads, railways, power generation projects, industrial parks, special economic zones besides developing Gwadar port. CPEC is termed as a game changer by Pakistan. But doubts still linger in the minds of many. The international monetary fund (IMF) in it's report has warned Pakistan of long term consequences that will bring untold misery to the Pakistani economy due to their inability to repay the loan amount back to China with above normal interest rate.  There is also concern that China will virtually take over the entire Pakistan

The Growing India-Pakistan-China Nuclear Rivalry ( Source- The Diplomat / Author- Francis P. Sempa )

Agni-5 ICBM ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons ) Source- The Diplomat Author- Francis P. Sempa  On June 22, 2016, the U.S. Army War College’s Strategic Studies Institute released a 60-page monograph analyzing the major trends in India’s nuclear posture and thinking in the increasingly challenging geopolitical environment of the Indo-Pacific region. India’s Evolving Nuclear Force and its Implications for U.S. Strategy in the Asia-Pacific is the work of three scholars who have written widely on India and Asia security topics: Yogesh Joshi, a PhD candidate at the Jawaharlal Nehru University whose work has appeared in Asia Policy and India Review; Frank O’Donnell, a lecturer in strategic studies at the University of Plymouth at Britannia Royal Naval College; and Harsh V. Pant, a professor of international relations at the India Institute at King’s College, London. Their work is a timely and important reminder that recent events in the East and South China Seas, which domi

China and Pakistan Join Forces Under the Sea ( Source- The National Interest / Author- Koh Swee Lean Collin)

Image credits- VOA Source- The National Interest Author-  Koh Swee Lean Collin While attention has been on the simmering tensions in the East and South China Seas letely, a small event took place in the East China Sea off the coast of Shanghai. Pakistan Navy (PN) guided missile frigate Shamsheer and fleet replenishment vessel Nasr drilled with a pair of PLA Navy Type-054A Jiangkai II frigates, Xuzhou and Yangzhou from December 31 to January 1. According to Chinese reports, the fast-paced, high-intensity exercise involved day and night maneuvers including joint escort, counter-piracy and live-firing. This constitutes a logical progression from the limited scope when this bilateral exercise first began in 2003 as a simple search-and-rescue drill. The objectives of these exercises are to hone interoperability between the two navies, while affording PN personnel the opportunity to get acquainted with Chinese technologies. What was new in this latest iteration, howeve

Why China Continues To Lose Goodwill In India – Analysis ( Source- Eurasia Review / Author- Sridhar Krishnaswami / South Asia Monitor)

Image source- Flickr / MEA India official gallery, Govt of India Source- Eurasia Review Author- Sridhar Krishnaswami / South Asia Monitor If anyone was under the impression that India’s notification to the United Nations sanctions Committee to rein in Pakistan under Resolution 1267 over the release of dreaded terrorist and commander of the Lakshar-e-Taiba, Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, would have the nod of China, he/she was living in an illusory world. Even if India had provided “enough information” China would still have maintained that New Delhi had failed to do so and would have adopted every other procedural manoeuvre to prevent Pakistan from being raked over the coals. What really would have been news is if China had gone along with other permanent members of the United Nations Security Council to consider India’s referral. That being the case it is difficult to understand why there is so much heartburn in the media and elsewhere on the latest Chinese action. In fact,

Why China Snubbed India on a Pakistan-based Terrorist at the UN ( Source- The Diplomat / Author- Ankit Panda)

Credits- Wikimedia Commons / Author- Patrick Gruban Source- The Diplomat Author- Ankit Panda On Tuesday, China blocked an Indian bid to question Pakistan at the United Nations sanctions committee (per resolution 1267) over the release of Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, a commander in Lashkar-e-Taiba, an anti-India terror group, and a central planner in the November 2008 terror attack on Mumbai which claimed over 160 lives. Lakhvi was released on bail by a Pakistani court in April, a move that India alleged was in violation of resolution 1267. China’s justification for blocking the Indian request—which sought clarification from Pakistan over Lakhvi’s release—was that India “failed to provide enough information.” The move is the latest in a series of recent moves by China to block or stall Indian proposals on countering or sanctioning Pakistan-based terrorism. Though seemingly a bureaucratic snub from Beijing, the action has understandably stirred a hornet’s nest of negativity i

China Stoops To Support Pakistan’s State-Sponsored Terrorism Against India (Source- Eurasia Review / Author- Subhash Kapila /SAAG)

Source- Wikimedia Commons / Author- Whispertome Source- Eurasia Review Author- Dr Subhash kapila / SAAG China’s strategic lust to enmesh Pakistan in a gridlock embrace has impelled it shockingly to support Pakistan’s state-sponsored terrorism against India by blocking in the United Nations, India’s proposals demanding action against Pakistan over the release of Mumbai 26/11 mastermind Zaki-ur-Rahman Lakhvi China offered a feeble explanation that technically it could not support India due to lack of adequate evidence presented. Is this not reminiscent of and repetition of Pakistan’s arguments since 2008 whenever India presented dozens of dossiers on Lakhvi and Pakistan’s ISI complicity in Mumbai 26/11 terror attacks. Is China not mindful that UN Resolution 1267 demands such actions or is it that China maintains that there are technical snags in the UN Resolution itself? Media reports indicate that PM Modi has taken up the matter with China at the highest levels a

The South Asia Nuclear Equation ( Source- The Diplomat / Author- Kunal Singh)

Source- Wikimedia Commons / Author- Skybolt101 Source- The Diplomat Author- Kunal Singh For 15 years, since its inception in February 2000, General Khalid Kidwai served as Director General of Pakistan’s Strategic Plans Division. Now an adviser to Pakistan’s National Command Authority, Kidwai was a speaker at the recent biennial Carnegie Nuclear Policy Conference. Offering a glimpse into Pakistan’s strategic thinking, he explained Pakistan’s shift from a strategy of “minimum credible deterrence” to “full spectrum deterrence.” During his talk, Kidwai justified Pakistan’s induction of battlefield nuclear weapons with operational ranges as low as 60 kilometers on the pretext of a non-existent “Cold Start” doctrine. Kidwai’s remarks have re-opened the debate over South Asia’s nuclear stability. A Stimson Center essay by Jeffrey McCausland has expanded on the dangers of Pakistan incorporating tactical nuclear weapons (TNWs). For instance, Pakistan’s Army would have to use t

China Unlikely To Give Up ‘Pakistan Card’ In Its Outreach To India – Analysis ( SOurce- Eurasia Review / Author- Dr. Subhash Kapila)

Image credits- Flickr / MEA Official Gallery Source- Eurasia review Author- Dr.Subhash Kapila China’s persistent strategy is to play the ‘Pakistan Card’ against India both as leverage and its strategy of coercion against India. Prime Minister Modi on his visit to China next week will face a more subtle playing by China of its ‘Pakistan Card’. In fact, much before Indian Prime Minister’s visit to Beijing, China played its ‘Pakistan Card’ against India on a more gigantic scale when Chinese President Xi visited Pakistan last month and unveiled China’s massive outlay of $ 44 billion in the proposed China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. It was not an economic move only as it was accompanied by China’s decision to supply Pakistan with six Chinese submarines and over 100 frontline Chinese fighter combat aircraft. So, in actual fact, Chinese President Xi signalled two forceful messages to India, as follows: India-US Strategic Partnership evolving proximity supplemented by

CHINA – PAKISTAN ECONOMIC CORRIDOR: CHANGING DYNAMICS OF SOUTHERN ASIA – ANALYSIS (SOURCE- EURASIA REVIEW / AUTHOR- BRIGADIER ARUN SAHGAL RETD)

Image credits- Xinhua Source- Eurasia review Author- Brigadier Arun Sahgal (Retd) The strategic landscape in Southern Asia is witnessing three major strategic shifts; most important from Indian point of view is the unveiling of China – Pakistan economic corridor linking landlocked Xinjiang region of China to the warm waters of Arabian Sea and further to Middle East, Europe and East Coast of Africa. In many sense it is game changer with long term strategic consequences for the region in general and India in particular. Second is the prospect of Iran’s integration with international community as a normal nation a process that has already begun. This has made number of regional actors most predominant being China and Russia and to limited extent even Pakistan initiate serious commercial and security dialogue, given the possibility of opening number of geopolitical and economic opportunities. A third element is the growing Eastern orientation of Russia and the emergin