CPEC, Afghanistan and India’s Concerns

Abstract

This paper highlights China’s views regarding CPEC and argues that stakes are very high for China in CPEC, and it is a project that must succeed if BRI is to go down in history as a success. However, CPEC’s success cannot be ensured without responding to the security challenge present in Pakistan and Afghanistan, which has the potential to jeopardise the CPEC and as a result the entire BRI. Hence, China is required to engage with both Pakistan and Afghanistan to ensure the long-term security of the CPEC. Building of CPEC and its further extension leaves India with limited options but augmenting economic, political and security concerns.

China–Pakistan cooperation on Afghanistan: assessing key interests and implementing strategies

“…Pakistan and Afghanistan also intend to establish three main railway tracks that will link Landi-Kotal with Jalalabad; Peshawar with Central Asia via Afghanistan; and Chaman Baluchistan with Spin Boldak. Both neighbors are also developing a 1500-MW hydropower project in Kundar funded by China to supply electricity to Pakistan (Manish, 2019;Siddique, 2015). The CARs are also building connectivity and energy related projects with Pakistan and Afghanistan under bilateral and multilateral arrangements.…”

“Chinese Threat” in India's Expert Discourse

“…Кроме того, индийские эксперты и политики опасаются, что в случае успешного развития CPEC снизится значение треугольника Афганистан-Пакистан-Индия, а сама Индия утратит позиции в Афганистане. При этом возрастет роль Китая, который, в свою очередь, будет пытаться стабилизировать регион через увеличение влияния Пакистана [18]. Помимо этого, Индию в принципе беспокоит строительство Китаем портов (в частности, Гвадара) в непосредственной близости от ее границ [19].…”

Encountering the BRI: India’s Pride and Prejudice?

“…"China's Relations with only does China play a "major country's role" (大国担当), so does Xi's "great leadership style" (领袖风范) (People's Daily, 2017). Therefore, the CPEC has become a project that "must succeed if the BRI is to go down in history as a success" (Manish & Kaushik, 2019). Indian officials openly expressed their objections to the CPEC, initially to voice concerns as work to upgrade the Karakoram Highway and the proposed Havelian-Kashi New Railway in Gilgit-Baltistan began on India-claimed Kashmir (P. Joshi, 2016) 130 .…”

“…Source: (Zahid et al, 2018) Some scholars also point out that the CPEC increases China and Pakistan's leverage to contain India's influence and counter the U.S. in Afghanistan, Iran and Central Asia (Khetran & Khalid, 2019;Latif & Zia, 2020;Manish & Kaushik, 2019). For example, the CPEC projects such as the Karakoram Highway and the Gwadar port, facilitate the Quadrilateral Traffic in Transit Agreement (QTTA), helping it to reach its full potential.…”