A catalyst for regional coop in Asia and obstructionist politics of other

Picture a bustling deep-sea port, its waters teeming with massive cargo ships from around the world, set against the backdrop of a rapidly developing cityscape. This isn’t a scene from a futuristic movie – it’s the vision for Gwadar Port, the crown jewel of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). As we delve into this transformative project, we’ll explore how Pakistan is poised to become the linchpin of regional cooperation in Asia.

At the crossroads of South Asia, Central Asia, and the Middle East, Pakistan occupies a unique geographical position. The country’s strategic location has long been recognized, but it’s the development of Gwadar Port and CPEC that truly unlocks its potential as a bridge between regions. Imagine standing at the helm of a ship entering Gwadar Port.

The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor is more than just a catchy acronym – it’s a $62 billion investment that’s set to revolutionize Pakistan’s infrastructure and economy. From energy projects to industrial zones, CPEC is laying the groundwork for unprecedented growth. A week ago the Gwadar international airport started its operations with the landing of the first PIA flight. The airport’s construction and operation are crucial for facilitating trade, investment, and connectivity in the region. It is expected to boost economic activities and attract foreign investors by providing efficient air transportation services. But CPEC’s impact extends far beyond Pakistan’s borders. It’s a crucial component of China’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative, connecting the world’s second-largest economy with markets across Eurasia. For Pakistan, this means:

ECONOMIC GROWTH: A projected boost of 2-2.5% to the annual GDP growth rate

INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT: Modern highways, railways, and energy projects transforming the landscape

TRADE EXPANSION: Gwadar Port becoming a hub for regional and global trade

STRATEGIC IMPORTANCE: Elevating Pakistan’s geopolitical significance on the world stage

The benefits of Gwadar Port and CPEC aren’t limited to Pakistan and China. Like ripples in a pond, the project’s positive effects are spreading across the region. Central Asian countries, landlocked and eager for access to warm-water ports, stand to gain significantly. Imagine Kazakh oil or Uzbek cotton finding swift passage to global markets through Gwadar. But it’s not just Central Asia that stands to benefit. Middle Eastern countries can leverage Gwadar as a gateway to China and Central Asia, while Russia sees potential in accessing the Indian Ocean more directly. This web of interconnectivity promises to usher in a new era of regional cooperation.

Unfounded Paranoia Over Gwadar: India feels compelled to sabotage the Gwadar projects, a paranoia about the strengthening China-Pakistan relations lying beneath this action. The port is seen as a “threat” to Indian security, given its strategic location in Balochistan, which allows China direct access to the Arabian Sea. An Indian discourse that has become a motif has done little but to cover up the real grievance: loss of regional dominance. For India, the very thought that Gwadar may one day be more developed than its ports and change the course of trade in the region is tantamount to undoing its self-declared hegemony over South Asia.

Instead of creating grounds for cooperation, India has treated the projects at Gwadar under a paradigm of confrontation and competition. It fears losing its leverage over landlocked Central Asian countries and meaningful influence in the Indian Ocean, all while disregarding the larger, even more-valuable reality that Gwadar may promote joint economic prosperity in the region.

India’s hostility towards Gwadar is not confined to mere words. It has tried to and has taken measures to sabotage Pakistan’s development by destabilizing Balochistan, the area in which Gwadar is located. The Indian involvement in Balochistan terrorism came to the forefront again with the capture of the Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav.

This meddling exposes India’s hypocrisy. Since the Indian public discourse has firmly established India as a regional stabilizer on the global stage, the state policy is fixated on sabotaging Pakistan. Such double standards demonstrate India’s desperation to undermine Pakistan’s development, and along the way disregarding regional equilibrium. The United States has perpetually shown deep apprehension and explicit animosity toward the Gwadar initiative, propelled by its broader geopolitical competition with China. The United States tenaciously resisted these initiatives, not from a place of authentic worry for regional equilibrium, but because it perceives its own strategic ascendancy diminishing in South Asia.

The American narrative against the Gwadar project stems from suspicions of clandestine actions and financial hazards, though these issues seem to contradict Washington’s record of exercising economic and political coercion on less powerful states.In this revision, “narrative” is replaced with “narrative,” “hinges” is changed to The alleged “debt entrapment” rationale is commonly employed to criticize China’s investments, notwithstanding Pakistan’s autonomous choice to partake in CPEC for its fiscal progress.  The US harbors concerns over not solely Beijing’s advancing dominance in the area but also deteriorates its capacity to command agreements with nations like Pakistan, which now seeks variety in partnerships. In actuality, Washington’s antagonism towards Gwadar is less about clarity and more about its urgency to limit China’s expanding geopolitical influence, even if it means unsettling a whole area.

Suspicion, strategic maneuvering, and underlying hostility define Iran’s view of the Gwadar Port project in Pakistan. Deeply rooted geopolitical concerns and a clear wish to undermine the success of the plan actually define Tehran’s true stance, even though it publicly pretends to be indifferent. Particularly the Chabahar Port—built with Indian help—that Tehran has always tried to position as a major trade center, Iran sees Gwadar as a direct challenge to its own economic objectives. The arrival of Gwadar as a significant deep-sea port on the Arabian Sea endangers Iran’s goals by providing a better option for regional connectivity and global trade. Iran’s unsaid terror is evident: Gwadar could outshine Chabahar and therefore reduce Tehran’s commercial bargaining power and geopolitical clout.

Moreover, Iran’s age-old friendship with India hinders its position. Using the Chabahar Port as a means to offset Pakistan’s dominance in regional trade, Tehran has been actively strengthening relations with India. The emergence of Gwadar directly challenges this setup and forces Iran to somewhat synchronize with India’s concerns over CPEC and Chinese influence in the area. Quietly working to undermine the success of the Gwadar project, Tehran could well leverage India’s worries to get more promises from New Delhi while discreetly salvaging the success of the Gwadar project. Although Iran has not expressly criticized Gwadar, its basic game plan is evident: it wants to protect its own interests by encouraging doubts, sowing dissent, and gently counteracting the port’s capabilities.

Similarly, the Gwadar projects are an effort to revolutionize the region’s shared connectivity and self-sufficiency. All the opposing states should abandon their aggressive stances geared towards slowing progress in the region and start encouraging cooperative efforts to advance geopolitical relations. In contrast, the course of action for both Pakistan and China is as evident as it is to the rest of the world: they must achieve their vision for the future with resoluteness and fortitude while anticipating and disregarding any interference.

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