By Interaction Desk
Pro-USA intellectuals are writing articles against Pakistan China relations saying that high cost of its alliance with China. Due to the poverty in its long-term, strategic planning, Islamabad’s conception that the Sino-Pakistani alliance is key to Pakistani security introduces dependence on Beijing and creates the avenue for Beijing’s exploitation and manipulation of it with the result that Pakistan finds itself less secure and alone in the world.
They argue that Pakistan should reverse course. The alliance with China ultimately serves China’s ambitions above Pakistan’s. Islamabad should extricate itself from its alliance with China, and improve its position by aligning with other, democratic states. The rise of China has had profound impact on Pakistan’s strategic calculations.
A more powerful and outwardly amicable China causes a natural reaction in Pakistan to align itself more closely with China in order to balance against India, its long-term adversary. Pakistan’s leadership believes that an alliance with China will somehow replace the long-term Pakistani dependence on the United States in mediating its relations with India. They also think that this relationship will help improve Pakistan’s poor economic situation.
To the contrary, according to Indo-American columnists and so called researcher claim that Pakistan’s strategic choice to ally with China is a profound mistake. Before it gets drawn even closer to China, Pakistan should rethink its strategic choices. The alliance with China is a strategic blunder because China is a poor alliance partner. Islamabad should note that China has tended to treat its allies as subordinates instead of partners in shaping its geostrategic ambitions.
Indeed, Beijing has not been subservient to any state since the Sino-Soviet split by the late 1950s. China’s steadfast allies are Cambodia, Iran, Myanmar, and North Korea hardly an august group. Beijing’s relationship with Moscow underscores the authoritarian character of its alliance relationships. China’s behavior as an alliance partner is often boorish, exploitative, and Machiavellian.
Further according to them, China’s economic assistance to Pakistan has come with very high costs. It has vowed to invest up to $60 billion in Pakistan as part of the CPEC but most of this investment will be extended in the form of loanswith a high interest rate of up to 7 percent. Sooner rather than later, Pakistan will find itself unable to service these very costly debts held by China.
According to such American intellectuals, “Allowing China a military presence in Pakistan is harmful for the country for many reasons. Pakistan will take a hit to its sovereignty, and the Pakistani military and civilian leadership will have little-to-no say in determining how China decides to use that facility. But Pakistan is not giving any base to China and keeping Chinese Military in Pakistan. We have bad experience with USA.
On the other hand, Pakistan’s relations with the United States have apparently improved as Trump himself confirmed in recent visit of India. The American are emphasizing to Pakistan at all levels that Instead of serving Pakistan itself, the country’s alliance with China paradoxically serves India’s interests. For India, a lonely and isolated Pakistan in tight embrace with China is the best possible option.
This relationship makes Pakistan more isolated in the international community. In the event of a clash between India and Pakistan, New Delhi will call upon Washington’s assistance as it has done in the past. Equally, India would be likely to tout Pakistan’s support from an authoritarian China. On the other hand, Pakistan will lose that potential avenue of conflict resolution and path to pressure India.
Alignment with China only ensures opposition to Pakistani interests in Washington. That situation is welcomed in both New Delhi and Beijing because China desires some degree of tension between India and Pakistan as this increases its leverage in Islamabad. Such arguments have impact on Pakistan’s policy. In fact, China and Pakistan relations are contrary to American intellectuals and American Administration’s judgment.
They are on self-respect and on the basis of mutual interest. American would like to break such relations and make India leader of the region which is not acceptable to Pakistan. American pressure to cut ties with China at its peak when it uses the tool of FATF putting Pakistan in Grey list continuously and keeping Pakistan under the clutches of IMF.