22vPaX

Recommendations

Info

asia policy Where Is the China-Pakistan Relationship Heading— Strategic Partnership or Conditional Engagement? Meena Singh Roy Andrew Small’s book The China-Pakistan Axis: Asia’s New Geopolitics provides a fascinating account of the Sino-Pakistani “all-weather friendship,” covering various facets of this relationship. This is a substantial contribution to the existing debate on the subject. Small very eloquently explains both countries’ perceptions and understandings of each other and reveals the complexities and conditionality of the bilateral relationship. An additional strength of the book lies in the author’s use of primary sources to substantiate his various arguments. Yet while the book covers various aspects of China-Pakistan relations, in my view this relationship can at best be characterized as strategic and instrumental in nature. The China-Pakistan partnership is one of the long-standing relationships in the region, one that continues to grow stronger in an era that is witnessing significant changes at the regional and international levels. However, Beijing’s approach and strategy to engagement with Islamabad has changed over the years as China’s economic and military influence continues to grow. Recently, ties have been further deepened by China’s huge financial commitment to infrastructure development projects in Pakistan as part of the new China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, which is connected to Beijing’s ambitious One Belt, One Road initiative. China views Pakistan as an important neighbor with a geostrategic location, having landroute access to the Persian Gulf and occupying an important position in the Islamic world. Pakistan’s key role in facilitating normalization of relations has also been acknowledged by the Chinese leadership. Former Chinese president Hu Jintao’s statement that “China can give up gold but not its friendship with Pakistan” 1 and President Xi Jinping’s statement that “China and Pakistan are good neighbors, good friends, partners and brothers” and that “the friendship between the two countries is deeply rooted and meena singh roy is a Research Fellow and Coordinator of the West Asia Centre with the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses in New Delhi, India. She can be reached at . 1 Syed Hasan Javed, Chinese Soft Power Code (Karachi: Paramount Books, 2014), 33. [ 160 ]
ook review roundtable • the china-pakistan axis unbreakable” 2 are indicative of China’s long-term commitment to Pakistan. This aspect of the relationship is well captured in The China-Pakistan Axis. The first chapter of the book looks at India as a key factor in the formation of the China-Pakistan friendship during the early years. Here, Small provides a comprehensive account of how the relationship developed between the two countries over three crucial wars (the 1962 Sino-Indian War, the 1965 Indo-Pakistani War, and the 1971 Indo-Pakistani War). The book rightly argues that China and Pakistan have never been treaty allies and their armies come from such radically different traditions that the two sides have often talked past each other on matters of strategy. But after Pakistan’s devastating defeat (in 1971), China helped the country to develop a set of military capabilities to ensure that it would never face the same fate again. (p. 3) To enhance Pakistan’s military capabilities, China fully backed and supported Pakistan’s nuclear ambitions through close cooperation, making Pakistan the only nuclear weapons country in the Islamic world. The central motive was to neutralize India’s nuclear weapons. The second chapter presents a fascinating narrative account of this nuclear cooperation. Small depicts China’s role in helping Pakistan obtain nuclear weapons and nuclear-capable missiles by supplying not only technology but also the necessary expertise and materials, including highly enriched uranium. Small correctly notes that “if the military relationship lies at the heart of China-Pakistan ties, nuclear weapons lie at the heart of the military relationship” (p. 29). But the most interesting dimension explained in the book is what this relationship actually has meant both for the Pakistani military and for its Chinese counterpart. When Pakistani foreign minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto traveled to China in 1965 to tell leaders there that India had built a plutonium plant and ask them to help Pakistan build a similar one, China suggested that Pakistan get assistance from Canada. The Karachi Nuclear Power Plant subsequently became operational in 1973, one year before India’s nuclear test. When Pakistan’s clandestine program was discovered by the International Atomic Energy Agency, Bhutto instead turned to A.Q. Khan for help with enrichment, using the latest European design from Urenco. And then China saw the advantage of cooperation with Pakistan to improve its own enrichment capabilities. The third chapter of the book provides an in-depth analysis of China’s dilemma on how to deal with Pakistan’s military adventurism against India, 2 Javed, Chinese Soft Power Code, 33. [ 161 ]
Page 1 and 2:
the national bureau of asian resear
Page 3 and 4:
asia policy number 21 • january 2
Page 5 and 6:
is south korea in china’s orbit?
Page 7 and 8:
2) To help bridge the policy and ac
Page 9 and 10:
Part 2: Foreign-Language Sources Wh
Page 11 and 12:
asia policy, number 21 (january 201
Page 13 and 14:
oundtable • non-claimant perspect
Page 15 and 16:
Page 17 and 18:
Page 19 and 20:
Page 21 and 22:
Page 23 and 24:
Page 25 and 26:
Page 27 and 28:
Page 29 and 30:
Page 31 and 32:
Page 33 and 34:
Page 35 and 36:
Page 37 and 38:
Page 39 and 40:
Page 41 and 42:
Page 43 and 44:
Page 45 and 46:
Page 47 and 48:
Page 49 and 50:
Page 51 and 52:
Page 53 and 54:
Page 55 and 56:
Page 57 and 58:
Page 59 and 60:
Page 61 and 62:
Page 63 and 64:
Page 65 and 66:
Page 67 and 68:
Page 69 and 70:
Page 71 and 72:
Page 73 and 74:
Page 75:
Page 78 and 79:
asia policy executive summary This
Page 80 and 81:
asia policy in the Asia-Pacific is
Page 82 and 83:
asia policy In addition, Taiwan cou
Page 84 and 85:
asia policy standard of market open
Page 86 and 87:
asia policy The TPP will require Ta
Page 88 and 89:
asia policy implications The implic
Page 90 and 91:
asia policy dependence on the mainl
Page 92 and 93:
asia policy and to Taiwan’s own d
Page 94 and 95:
asia policy executive summary This
Page 96 and 97:
asia policy indicators such as econ
Page 98 and 99:
asia policy giving market forces a
Page 100 and 101:
asia policy for yangqi to improve t
Page 102 and 103:
asia policy this view, cadres loyal
Page 104 and 105:
asia policy political promotion can
Page 106 and 107:
asia policy administrative entity i
Page 108 and 109:
asia policy higher levels of manage
Page 111 and 112:
asia policy, number 21 (january 201
Page 113 and 114:
kim and cha • between a rock and
Page 115 and 116:
Page 117 and 118:
Page 119 and 120: kim and cha • between a rock and
Page 131: kim and cha • between a rock and
Page 134 and 135: asia policy executive summary This
Page 136 and 137: asia policy the news media’s eage
Page 138 and 139: asia policy and intraregional nucle
Page 140 and 141: asia policy south korea’s percept
Page 142 and 143: asia policy South Korean views of C
Page 144 and 145: asia policy impressive. Although th
Page 146 and 147: asia policy increased to 65.5%, whi
Page 148 and 149: asia policy widely documented. 41 E
Page 150 and 151: asia policy November of that same y
Page 152 and 153: asia policy forces in restraining N
Page 154 and 155: asia policy assessments of the thre
Page 157 and 158: asia policy, number 21 (january 201
Page 159 and 160: ook review roundtable • the china
Page 169: ook review roundtable • the china
Page 183: ook review roundtable • the china
Page 188: the national bureau of asian resear
show all

22vPaX

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?