As the Taliban march on the Pakistani capital of Islamabad only see*ms to be menacingly inevitable, the stance of China is the biggest question baffling analysts. Pakistan is threatened by Jihadi groups, every day suffering from unnumbered and countless attacks in all odd parts of the country. The groups are increasingly attacking the heartlands, among the educated crowds, cities, places considered traditionally out of bounds. Motivated by religious fanaticism these groups have infiltrated the armed forces, as evident from their well-executed plans, which cannot be done without some amount of inside help.
China, however, turned a blind eye, and irrevocably pledged friendship with Pakistan, without asking any complicated questions. But the question is: how far can China go in its support for a state which can be termed at worst rogue, or, at best, failed?
Lets face it, even China knows Pakistan is involved in state-sponsored terrorism. China suffers from militant Islamism in its southwestern porous mountainous parts which are regularly infiltrated by global jihadi groups, many of which have roots in Pakistan and Chechnya, among other places. The number of Chinese casualties in Pakistan is also not negligible. Over 10 Chinese engineers and workers were gunned down by terrorists in Pakistan from July 2006 to February 2011. Chinese presence in Balochistan is resented by the residents and is seen as a form of economic exploitation of natural resources. And China is well aware that this militancy is not time- or region- or ethnicity-bound, and will someday come back to haunt it, as evident by the riots in Xinxiang, rumored to be influenced by radicals from al Qaeda.
Chinese aid to Pakistan, both military and economic, is, however, seen as regular by the Pakistani media and public, even though that brings her in direct confrontation with India and U.S., and is vehemently denied by China as any policy of brinkmanship. But China apparently took the risk in order to be a part of the great game of Central Asia after the U.S. leaves Afghanistan. The temptation of controlling the destiny of nation building and having satellites in the region is proving to be too high.
Being a growing economic powerhouse, China needs ample natural resources to satiate its technological and industrial hunger, and, most importantly, it needs a stronghold in the sea, which might be provided by the Gwadar port in Pakistan, with China being its de facto owner.
However, as mentioned earlier, this brings her to direct confrontation with the rest of the probing and dissatisfied world, who are all skeptical about Pakistans double game. Also, the emergency deal of 50 Fighter planes to Pakistan, which would be no use against the terrorists whatsoever, was borderline irresponsible for a regional power.
What China fails to comprehend is the fire of extremism will not be limited inside the boundary of some countries, and the extremists themselves dont differentiate between countries, regardless of their geo-political stance and isolationist exceptionalism. China could have used this situation to collar its southern satellite to greater leverage and made them rein in their disruptive forces, but it missed the opportunity. Perhaps an apt and classic example would be the Dwarves of Tolkien Legendarium, who went to the Mines of Moria to dig deep for silver, and dug so deep, that they ultimately were destroyed by the dark forces of the abyss. The faster China understands that, the better for her.
Read more at the Washington Examiner: http://washingtonexaminer.com/topics/islamist-terrorists-gwadar-port
China, however, turned a blind eye, and irrevocably pledged friendship with Pakistan, without asking any complicated questions. But the question is: how far can China go in its support for a state which can be termed at worst rogue, or, at best, failed?
Lets face it, even China knows Pakistan is involved in state-sponsored terrorism. China suffers from militant Islamism in its southwestern porous mountainous parts which are regularly infiltrated by global jihadi groups, many of which have roots in Pakistan and Chechnya, among other places. The number of Chinese casualties in Pakistan is also not negligible. Over 10 Chinese engineers and workers were gunned down by terrorists in Pakistan from July 2006 to February 2011. Chinese presence in Balochistan is resented by the residents and is seen as a form of economic exploitation of natural resources. And China is well aware that this militancy is not time- or region- or ethnicity-bound, and will someday come back to haunt it, as evident by the riots in Xinxiang, rumored to be influenced by radicals from al Qaeda.
Chinese aid to Pakistan, both military and economic, is, however, seen as regular by the Pakistani media and public, even though that brings her in direct confrontation with India and U.S., and is vehemently denied by China as any policy of brinkmanship. But China apparently took the risk in order to be a part of the great game of Central Asia after the U.S. leaves Afghanistan. The temptation of controlling the destiny of nation building and having satellites in the region is proving to be too high.
Being a growing economic powerhouse, China needs ample natural resources to satiate its technological and industrial hunger, and, most importantly, it needs a stronghold in the sea, which might be provided by the Gwadar port in Pakistan, with China being its de facto owner.
However, as mentioned earlier, this brings her to direct confrontation with the rest of the probing and dissatisfied world, who are all skeptical about Pakistans double game. Also, the emergency deal of 50 Fighter planes to Pakistan, which would be no use against the terrorists whatsoever, was borderline irresponsible for a regional power.
What China fails to comprehend is the fire of extremism will not be limited inside the boundary of some countries, and the extremists themselves dont differentiate between countries, regardless of their geo-political stance and isolationist exceptionalism. China could have used this situation to collar its southern satellite to greater leverage and made them rein in their disruptive forces, but it missed the opportunity. Perhaps an apt and classic example would be the Dwarves of Tolkien Legendarium, who went to the Mines of Moria to dig deep for silver, and dug so deep, that they ultimately were destroyed by the dark forces of the abyss. The faster China understands that, the better for her.
Read more at the Washington Examiner: http://washingtonexaminer.com/topics/islamist-terrorists-gwadar-port
