Pak-China Strategic Partnership

Having established their diplomatic relations in 1951, Pakistan and China have come a long way in terms of their bilateral relationship. Some critics emphasize the ‘asymmetric’ nature of Pakistan-China relations terming it an ‘odd relationship’ where Pakistan has been considered on the receiving end. However, it is the mutual interests that have strengthened the equation between Pakistan and China over the years. Apparently, the two countries have developed multidimensional bond but the underlying factor in this multidimensional bilateral connection is the strategic partnership i.e., the military and defense ties.

Although, Pakistan-China relationship was not smooth and friendly in true terms in the initial years, it was the changing regional and to some extent global security that gradually brought them closer.  Despite some major dissimilarity, for instance ideological and cultural, there were a few realities such as absence of territorial or political conflict, no clash of interests and no competition which helped both to establish a strong bond. The foremost concern for establishing diplomatic ties was to seek strategic support.

For Pakistan, there were two key facts that necessitated its strategic partnership with China: the fragile security environment resulting from the complicated equation between Pakistan and India and the challenges posed by the support system that India managed to fetch from the major powers in the wake of Pakistan-India crisis following the partition. As the Kashmir Question arosebetween Pakistan and India, the former sought China’s support to its stance on the Kashmir issue in particular.

For China, the geostrategic location of Pakistan and the foreign policy challenge in South Asia that China developed with India in early 1960s are the basis of its interests towards Pakistan. Over the years, along with other considerations, the foreign policy challenges to China have also multiplied. The regional security environment posed  a number of challenges emanating from the economic and political advancement of China’s immediate or peripheral neighbours. On the one hand, there are India and Russia as strategic competitors, Japan and South Korea and ASEAN (Association of South-East Asian Nations) as economic competitors and on the other hand  the strategic and economic alliances between the US and India exerts constant pressure on China’s foreign policy moves.  China has largely pursued a policy of easing out the US from the South Asian security arena ever since the end of the cold war. To this end, Pakistan has been presented as a strategic pressure point against the US.

Pakistan has a history of troubled relations with its two immediate neighbours-India and Afghanistan. There have been periodic upheavals as well in Pakistan. Keeping in view the challenges this scenario poses to Pakistan’s strategic and security system, China has always been considered a security guarantor. China has not only supported Pakistan in its wars with India but also helped the country develop a strong defense mechanism. The key feature of the Pakistan-China robust strategic partnership is the technological and material assistance that China has extended to Pakistan military over the years. China is Pakistan’s largest defense supplier. The two important nuclear reactors that Pakistan has at Chashma, were built with Chinese support and assistance. Regular joint military exercises have also been a prominent feature of their strategic alliance.

China’s unconditional support to Pakistan began with the conclusion of border agreement between the two countries in 1963 and the same year the two countries signed the first bilateral trade agreement. Earlier, Pakistan had voted for China’s legitimate rights in the United Nations in 1961. Their relationship grew with the changing international and regional security dynamics and Pakistan and China developed an ‘all weather friendship’ from 1960s-1980s. Following the disintegration of the Soviet Union and the emergence of the US as the sole super power, in the early 1990s, China reportedly equipped Pakistan’s military with more sophisticated weapons’ technology, including missiles.

Weapons and aircrafts possessed by the Pakistan military which are transferred by China or developed through Chinese assistance include:
Short-range ballistic M-11 missiles
JF-17 aircraft
F-22P frigates with helicopters
K-8 jet trainers
T-85 tanks
F-7 aircraft
Shaheen-1 ballistic missile

Source: As quoted in Lisa Curtis, ‘China’s Military and Security
Relationship with Pakistan’, 26 May 2009,
http://www.heritage.org/research/testimony

The most intriguing aspect of the assistance that Pakistan has received from China in all the years is the deep-sea port at Pakistan’s naval base in Gwadar in the province of Balochistan. The port has been constructed at the apex of the Arabian Sea. The Gwadar Port translates China’s long-term interests and makes it a major stakeholder in the region extending its influence to the Indian Ocean politics. The port will further enable China to gain access to the oil and gas that is regularly traded through the Indian Ocean from the Persian Gulf.

The strategic and defense ties have complimented with robust economic cooperation and promotion of cultural understanding between two nations. China has not only extended unrelenting support to Pakistan through its thick and thin, including the aid and assistance after the 2005 earthquake in Pakistan, but has also facilitated people-to-people contact in many ways. For instance, Urdu is being taught at one of the best universities in China-the Peking University. There has been a profound interest among Chinese people in learning Urdu language.

The long-term strategic and economic partnership between Pakistan and China was further consolidated with the signing of the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Good Neighbourly Relations, during the Chinese Premier’s visit to Islamabad in 2005. The joint statement termed the treaty a step forward in promoting the strategic ties between China and Pakistan in future. Lately, the two countries have celebrated the 60th anniversary of their diplomatic ties in 2011. Both the countries conducted a range of joint military exercises which were evident of their continued strategic and defense partnership.

From a rudimentary revolutionary communist state in 1949, China has gradually emerged as a promising economic and strategic giant in today’s politics. The country is following a global agenda and has always managed to pursue a balanced foreign policy. It is in the wake of changing regional and global concerns after 9/11 that country began a rapprochement with India. China has also managed profitable economic relations with the US. The country is also sensitive to the criticism and concerns that have generated in the international community due to its unrelenting support to Pakistan, especially after 9/11. The Pakistan-China relations have undertaken changes in post-9/11 scenario, for instance from backing Pakistan in its stance on Kashmir, China now has adopted a neutral policy on Kashmir. On the other hand, the presence of US forces in South Asian region and the influence the country seems to exert in regional politics, pose even a greater challenge to Chinese foreign policy in one way or the other and for that maintaining the momentum of its long-term ties with Pakistan is still a priority foreign policy option for China. A range of agreements and joint ventures undertaken by China with Pakistan are not only a step towards further cementing their multidimensional relationship but also are the manifestation of China’s inexhaustible interest in maintaining its ties with Pakistan.