Sunday, October 21, 2018

Book Review: The China-Pakistan Axis Asia's New Geopolitics by Andrew Small


Andrew Small has given an impressive account of friendship of India’s two most powerful neighbors. China and Pakistan known as all-weather friends but over the years this relation has also not escaped trouble.  Based on eight chapters this book narrates the historical background of China Pakistan relations.  Moreover issues related to nuclear development and cooperation between China and Pakistan is addressed in great detail. A comprehensive study of India’s concern over the years regarding China is highlighted. China-Pak axis in the region has always alarmed Indian foreign policy makers as it changes the flux of strategic imperatives for India.

China sees itself as a significant player in the region and globally at large. It wants a hand in Afghanistan’s stability and in recent days has also taken keen interest in negotiations with the Taliban. China sees the Uighur population in China’s Xijiang province as a threat to its stability as evidence very well suggests that terrorist elements are involved in radicalizing the population.

Furthermore the Karakoram Highway and its importance are also mentioned by the author. China has strategic ambitions that stretch all the way from Xiajing to the Middle East. The One Belt One Road initiative of China is a manifestation of these strategic objectives. CPEC, a segment of this grand project is about including Pakistan in the vital scheme and providing for its infrastructure development. The author believes that like the Karakoram Highway, Gwadar has never been completely viewed as a commercial plan rather it has strategic and political ambitions.

The main explanations given for OBOR include outsourcing of extra Chinese industrial capital by giant Chinese companies; build markets for Chinese products, promote development in China’s western regions, provide alternate maritime transportation routes for China and lastly increase China’s influence in areas where there is little resistance from United States.

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