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Growing Sino-Pakistan Military Ties Ring Alarm Bells In India

By Abdus Sattar Ghazali

12 January, 2012
Countercurrents.org

India Today reported on January 4, that a secret report prepared by the government's joint intelligence committee has confirmed India’s worst fears - China is planning a military base in Pakistan. The paper said that the report, based on inputs from the (Indian Intelligence agency) Research and Analysis Wing, is meant for the Prime Minister, members of the cabinet committee on security and the national security adviser.

The report says China is keen to build military bases in FATA or the Northern areas while Pakistan wants to counterbalance Indian naval forces by having a naval base in Gwadar. But it does not spell out the exact location of these bases. "China's deepening strategic penetration of Pakistan and joint plans to set up oil pipelines/ rail/ roads and naval and military bases are a matter of concern," the report says.

India Today report says that it may not be politically feasible for Pakistan to openly allow China to set up military bases on its soil. But it might allow China to use its military facilities without any public announcement. According to the Indian intelligence assessment, Chinese presence in these areas might enable the People's Liberation Army to counter the Muslim separatists operating from such areas for terrorist activities in Xinjiang.

The paper claimed that the issue of Chinese bases in Pakistan was discussed during the visits of Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari to China and during a visit late last year of the ISI chief, Shuja Pasha, to Beijing.

The India Today report coincides with another report by a UK-based Indian-origin scholar, Harsh V. Pant in The Washington Quarterly (winter 2012) saying:

“Recent suggestions emanating from Beijing that China is likely to set up military bases overseas to counter U.S. influence and exert pressure on India have been interpreted in certain sections in New Delhi as a veiled reference to China’s interest in having a permanent military presence in Pakistan.

“Indian concerns have also risen that China and Pakistan are coordinating their efforts in regard to border issues with India. The presence of the Chinese military in the Gilgit—Baltistan area of Pakistan Occupied Kashmir, purportedly to repair and upgrade the Karakoram Highway, has enormous implications for Indian security.”

Tellingly, the India Today and The Washington Quarterly reports came on the eve of a five-day official visit to China by Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff, General Ashfaq Kiyani. This was General Kiyani’s third visit to China as cordial relations with Beijing is a pillar of Islamabad's foreign policy.

During his January 5-9 January visit General Kiyani met separately with the Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, State Councilor Dai Bingguo; Defense Minister Gen. Liang Guanglie, General Chen Bingde, PLA Chief of General Staff, and Chen Qiufa, Administrator, State Administration for Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense (SASTIND).

Premier Wen Jiabao told Kiyani that Pakistani armed forces have made important contributions toward maintaining bilateral relations and boosting the China-Pakistan strategic cooperative partnership. He pledged to support stronger military exchanges and cooperation between both countries. Defense Minister Liang assured Kiyani that Beijing hopes to develop “pragmatic and effective cooperation with Pakistan in national defense arena."

The PLA Chief of General Staff, General Chen said “under the current complex and volatile regional and international situation, China and Pakistan have resolved to further consolidate and strengthen their relations in accordance with their fundamental interests.” Since the future of Pakistan and China hinges on the cooperation and understanding of their young generation, therefore, during their meeting Kayani and General Chen agreed that, in future there would be “enhance exchanges of younger soldiers and officers of the two armed forces.” In the field of military cooperation, General Chen assured General Kayani that, “China would like to strength military ties with Pakistan and take the existing cooperation to a new, higher level.”

With Chen Qiufa, Administrator, State Administration for Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense (SASTIND), General Kiyani discussed how to consolidate existing defense industry cooperation and to explore new avenues for shared technological platforms? Projects covering joint production and defense trade have created a strong interface between the two armed forces.

China is Pakistan’s largest defense supplier

In recent years, China has emerged as Pakistan’s largest defense supplier, with joint projects to produce armaments ranging from fighter jets to guided missile frigates.

Pakistan’s military modernization is largely dependent on Chinese assistance, with China supplying Pakistan with short-range M-11 missiles and helping Pakistan develop the Shaheen-1 ballistic missile. In the last two decades, the two states have been actively involved in a range of joint ventures, including the JF-17 fighter aircraft used for delivering nuclear weapons, an Airborne Warning and Control System, and the Babur cruise missile.

In a major move for its indigenous defense industry, China is supplying its most advanced homemade combat aircraft, the third-generation J-10 fighter jet, to Pakistan in a deal worth around $6 billion. Negotiations are also underway between the two for the purchase of six new submarines by Islamabad.

Beijing is reportedly helping Pakistan to build and launch satellites for remote sensing and communication.

Pakistan’s nuclear infrastructure

China also played a major role in the development of Pakistan’s nuclear infrastructure and emerged as Pakistan’s benefactor at a time when increasingly stringent export controls in Western countries made it difficult for Pakistan to acquire materials and technology.

In the 1990s, China designed and supplied the heavy water Khusab reactor, which plays a key role in Pakistan’s production of plutonium.

China also provided technical and material support for the completion of the Chashma Nuclear Power Reactor and plutonium reprocessing facility, which was built in the mid-1990s. In 2010, China signed an agreement with Pakistan for two new nuclear reactors known as Chashma III and Chashma IV. Two reactors Chashma I and Chashma II are already working.

China and Pakistan moving closer

In recent months Pakistan was seen moving closer to China amid growing tensions between Washington and Islamabad and deepening India-US relations.

According to a report on Pakistan by the US Congressional Research Service, Islamabad was becoming more reliant than ever on its friendship with China as US-India ties deepen. The October 2011 report was alluding to the US-India civilian nuclear agreement which compounds Pakistan's distrust of the US, spurring efforts by Pakistani officials to secure a similar deal with China. In April 2010, China announced its plan to build two new nuclear power reactors in Pakistan. Not surprisingly, Andrew Small of the German Marshall Fund of the United States, says "in private, Chinese analysts are quite clear that this is a strategic tit-for-tat” in response to U.S-India nuclear deal. [Interview with the Council of Foreign Relations magazine, July 7, 2010]

Deteriorating relations between the US and Pakistan in the wake of May 2011 Osama Operation have increased Islamabad’s reliance on China as a key international ally, the US report said.

The US-Pakistan relations took a new twist in November when the US-led NATO helicopters launched a two-hour attack on Pakistani posts along the Pak-Afghan border killing 24 Pakistani soldiers. Pakistan has accused NATO/US of a deliberate attack while the US says it was a mistake.

China has stepped into the toxic diplomatic dispute between Pakistan and the United States, expressing its "deep shock and strong concern" over the deaths of two dozen Pakistani soldiers. A foreign ministry spokesman added: "China believes that Pakistan's independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity should be respected and the incident should be thoroughly investigated and be handled properly."

No doubt, the Chinese intervention carries a significance beyond the immediate dispute. Pakistan considers China to be its closest ally and an alternative partner to the West, while both governments oppose US plans to have bases in Afghanistan beyond the 2014 date for ending the coalition's combat operations there.

Analysts believe that while Pakistan plays China card as a counterweight to India and the United States, Pakistan-China friendly ties help satisfy the Chinese strategic objectives: No other major power, particularly the United States, advances its interests in continental Asia at China's expense through military deployments or permanent access arrangements; and bottle up India in the subcontinent, forestalling the emergence of a continental-sized rival.

Abdus Sattar Ghazali is the Chief Editor of Journal of America (www.journalofamerica.net) and Executive Editor of American Muslim Perspective (www.amperspective.com) Email: asghazali2011 (@) gmail.com



 


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