Chinese Conspiracy To Capture Pakistan Through CPEC
Mehtab Karan Singh
Detroit; USA; Jan 1; 2019: It is well known that self-interest guides the foreign policies of all nations; sovereignty and security being the main issues followed by trade; economic well being and cultural manifestations etc. China; however; is following a different path altogether; it is adopting an imperialistic posture that is supported by its immense wealth in the form of foreign currency reserves. Profit is the centre of gravity of the Chinese foreign policy which; in turn; translates into a modern version of colonisation.
Pakistan is the focal point of Chinese policy of economic colonisation; it is there that the pilot project of the ambitious Belt and Road Initiative has been initiated. The model; better known as the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC); is proposed to be replicated in other countries once its efficacy is established.
Pakistan is presently in a financial crisis due to a debt trap like economic situation. It has a huge balance of payments to be given to western nations and financial institutions like the World Bank. Under the circumstances; it has no option but to look towards China for relief.
China is quite ready to render financial assistance to Pakistan because with every Dollar going in the country is selling itself off. China already has virtual control over Gilgit-Baltistan and Balochistan; now; by getting into investment in the agriculture and social sector it is gaining a foothold in Punjab; the richest and strongest Province of Pakistan and also its holy cow.
The advocates of CPEC; who have unimaginable financial gains and wealth at stake; speak incessantly of the so-called immense benefits that will accrue from it to the people of Pakistan. This is bound to remain an illusion till such time that the Pakistani government does not usher fiscal reforms that would sustain the economy and there seems to be no progress in this direction. The rich continue to become richer and the poor poorer in Pakistan and the new Pakistan envisioned by the incumbent prime minister; Imran Khan; is nowhere in sight.
The countries; like Pakistan; that are looking towards China for aid would be well advised to look at the status of the Hambantota Port in the southern coast of Sri Lanka which has been developed by China. The Port is a piece of real estate that can define the importance of a country like Sri Lanka in global affairs; such is its strategic value. In a fit of short sightedness or due to avarice; the government of Mahinda Rajapaksa allowed the Chinese to build a port facility at Hambantota whose capacity far exceeded the requirement. With time it remained underutilised and became economically unviable. China then swooped in to take over the facility on a 99 year lease.
It has now supported the ouster of the incumbent government in the island nation in favour of its old friend Rajapaksa in order to ensure that the hold on the Port becomes strong and irretrievable. This is a lesson for all other nations; especially Pakistan; while dealing with the country.
China is especially targeting African Nations in its economically driven imperialist and colonist designs. It is so because these countries have much in common with Pakistan so far as mis-governance is concerned. They too have borrowed indiscriminately from western countries and are now desperate to find an exit route which China is ever ready to provide in return of unlimited access to the rich resources of the said Banana Republics.