Central Asia is the
center stage of new Great games. Western quest for resources- oil and energy
resources in the central Asia. After USSR decline, new quest started which is as
manifested by politics of oil. Pakistan is located very close to the oil rich
Middle Eastern countries. The belt started from Iran and extended to Saudi
Arabia. Thus, Pakistan can influence shipment of oil. Iran is struggling to
export its surplus gas and oil to eastern countries, Qatar, Pakistan and
Turkmenistan pipeline projects highlight the position.
In the energy scarce world, Pakistan is located in the hub of energy rich
countries i-e Iran and Afghanistan: both are energy abundant while India and
china are lacking. China finds way to Indian Ocean and Arabian sea through
Karakorum highway to Gawadar Port.
Pakistan purchased the Gwadar enclave from Oman for 5.5 billion Rupees
(equivalent to USD $1.1 billion in 2015 dollars). At that time, Gwadar was a
small and underdeveloped fishing village with a population of a few thousand.
But now Gwadar is Key for development in Pakistan. As Gwadar Port located in
proximity of Arabian Gulf and Central Asian Republics provide it unique
opportunity to serve both. Pakistan needs to capitalize on them through better
diplomatic ties with Arab states and CARs. It is therefore anticipated that oil
reserves and other resources of CARs would gradually become the focus of world
attention in coming years. However, in case of “exports to and from CARs” a
peaceful and stable Afghanistan is must. The port will also help in promoting
trade with Gulf States possessing 63% of world’s oil reserves and will prove
instrumental in promoting trans-shipment essentially of containerized cargo
besides unlocking the development potential for hinterland. The most important
factor that makes Gwadar Port strategically unique is the location with respect
to other major ports in the region, which are all located on the other side of
the sea. Gwadar port being towards north can easily provide services and
facilities to CARs, Afghanistan and China.
China has a great strategic interest in Gwadar. In 2013, the state-owned China
Overseas Port Holdings Limited acquired Gwadar port.The port is strategically
important for China as sixty percent of China's oil comes from the Persian Gulf
by ships traveling over 16,000 kilometers in two to three months, confronting
pirates, bad weather, political rivals, and other risks up to its only
commercial port, Shanghai. Gwadar will reduce the distance to a mere 5000
kilometers and also serve round the year. For this reason Public Republic of
China along with Pakistan has started a project names CPEC. Actually this
project is a web of roads and railway tracks all around Pakistan form south end
to the north one.
CPEC will provide Pakistan an opportunity to develop transit economy on account
is its strategic location.Land locked Afghanistan now at the phase of
reconstruction finds its ways through Pakistan,Moreover, Pakistan offers central
Asian regions the shortest route of 2600 km as compared to Iran 4500 km or
turkey 5000 km. Gwader port with its deep waters attracts the trade ships of
china, CARs and south east Asian countries., also the coastal belt of
Balochistan can provide outlet to china’s western provinces to have access to
middles eastern markets with the development of coastal highways and motorways.
CPEC is a game changer for the entire region. It will uplift the lives of about
3 billion people across China, Central Asia, South Asia and the Middle East. $46
billion economic package is Chinese gift for people of Pakistan.
Pakistan’s Expected Gains from CPEC
1: CPEC has opened vista of great opportunities for Pakistan and will greatly
help in overcoming poverty, unemployment, inequities of smaller provinces and
help Pakistan in becoming the next Asian tiger.
2: CPEC from all counts will prove a game changer and will make China a real
stakeholder in Pakistan’s stability and security. It is a win-win situation for
both. It will greatly expand the scope for the sustainable and stable
development of China’s economic development.
3: Investments by China will boost Pakistan’s $274 billion GDP by over 15 %.
4: Given the solid foundations of friendship at the people-to-people level
between China and Pakistan, Chinese influence in Pakistan is destined to endure
the test of time.
Pakistan seems to have found a saviour in China, which has promised to stand by
the country in its dark hour. Once Pak-China connectivity strike roots,
Pakistan’s geo-strategic security interests whenever threatened will be guarded
by China.
5: China’s investment surpasses all foreign investments in Pakistan in the past.
Win-win cooperation is based on trust, confidence and convergence of interests.
The Chinese influence in Pakistan has touched an unprecedented high level and it
has surpassed the US which has remained the most preferred ally since 1954.
6: The US which has repeatedly betrayed Pakistan and is widely disliked by the
public will have to negotiate with Pakistan harder than ever from now onward.
The elites under the magic spell of the US are also inclined to change their
western oriented mindset and change their orientation.
7: Pakistan enjoys a more favorable fiscal budget situation compared to India by
reducing its budget deficit to 4.7% of GDP in 2014 (as against India’s 7%) and
Pakistan is much cheaper as an emerging market.
8: China’s economic and military assistance will help Pakistan a great deal in
narrowing its ever widening gap in economic-military-nuclear fields with India
and in bettering its defence potential.
9: Revival of economy in the coming period is bound to make Pakistan an
attractive destination for foreign investors and will greatly help in removing
socio-economic inequities of smaller provinces and in squeezing the space for
anti-Pakistan elements.
10: The success of the Sino-Pak partnership is critically linked to the success
of stabilization of the Afghan situation. China and Pakistan have a shared
interest in the stabilization of Afghanistan, because the main threat to the
realization of the “Belt and Road” projects in Pakistan come from the terrorist
groups operating out of the Af-Pak region.
11: Pakistan is far more comfortable with China as a facilitator of the Afghan
peace talks than it is with the US, whose intentions are highly suspect.
12: China’s investment in Pakistan has conveyed a big message to the other South
Asian countries such as Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal to hurry and climb on board
the Chinese “Belt and Road Initiative” to derive growth benefits.
13: Pakistan’s gravitation in the direction of China and Russia at this juncture
underscores a strategic realignment in the making.
14: China is uniquely placed to pull the key regional states – Russia, Iran,
Central Asian states to its side.
15: Corresponding progress and prosperity in Pakistan and China’s patronage will
help Pakistan in getting rid of the decade old labels of ‘epicentre of
terrorism’, ‘most dangerous country’ and a ‘failing state’.
16: Keeping strategic parity with India has now become an achievable goal for
Pakistan.