While Pakistan wants China to build a naval base at its southwestern seaport of Gwadar in Balochistan, Beijing is more interested in setting up military bases either in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) or in the Federally Administered Northern Areas (FANA) that border its Xinjiang province.
The Chinese desire is aimed at containing growing terrorist activities of Chinese rebels belonging to the al Qaeda-linked East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM), which is also known as the Turkistani Islamic Party (TIP), according to The Asia Times.
The Chinese Muslim rebels want the creation of an independent Islamic state and are allegedly being trained in the tribal areas of Pakistan. According to well-placed diplomatic circles in Islamabad, Beijing’s wish for a military presence in Pakistan was discussed at length by the political and military leadership of both countries in recent months as China (which views the Uyghur separatist sentiment as a dire threat) has become ever-more concerned about Pakistan’s tribal areas as a haven for radicals.
Beijing believes that similar to the United States military presence in Pakistan, a Chinese attendance would enable its military to effectively counter the Muslim separatists who have been operating from the tribal areas of Pakistan for almost a decade, carrying out cross-border terrorist activities in trouble-stricken Xinjiang province.
There have been three high-profile visits from Pakistan to China in recent months; the first by Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar; the second by President Asif Ali Zardari and the third by Inter-Services Intelligence chief Lt General Ahmad Shuja Pasha. The Pakistani visits were reciprocated by the September 28 visits to Islamabad of Chinese Vice Premier and Public Security Minister Meng Jianzhu. This was prompted by two bomb blasts in the city of Kashgar in Xinjiang on July 30 and 31 in which 18 people were killed.
The explosions provoked senior government officials in Xinjiang into publicly claiming for the first time in recent years that the attackers had been trained in explosives in ETIM/TIP camps run by Chinese separatists in the Waziristan tribal region of Pakistan.
even though china is far better THAN US ……but havent we already learnt a lesson before for such a thing to happen again
No never.
no
after all the truth what we (in Europe) know about China and their “doings”, YOU SHOULD NOT !!!! this is for Your own good.. i know lots of You consider China as friend .. but this is my warm suggestion to say NO!!
this would be like a knife that u give to your friend and any time if he want that he can cut your neck.always the people and situations ara not the same.i want to know that who sold our land on UAE and to construct the airbase, now that airbase UAE rented to USA and from that airbase ‘shamsi or what ever’ our innocent brothers are stricking in our homes. in FATA.WANA,
S AND N WAZIRISTAN-PAKISTAN
No.Never. What China has given to us except few bullets. I think US is a better ally of pakistan than china. We have recieved billions of $ from her. Friendship does not mean that v should lay down ourselves before china.
where is the western and UN AND US justice to save kids innocent kids any where they are victims on the earth
no….tell china to ask this from india with whom they signed countless deals and raised only slogans when visited pak…..we hold one of the biggest market for china so it wont ever mind this NO….
History repeats itself, first as a tragedy, later as a farce – Karl Marx.
No bases to no one. That’s what I feel.
No, let’s not do something that we will regret later on.
😛 :O :/
why everyone think Pakistan as a good battle a field …… ??
we must try to become walfare state rather then secuirty state.as china its self never fight any war but get foucs only in economic first then miltary we must do same like china……….but we do by ourself only first people progress then other things…………in our country
I ATTENDED THE 60 ANNIVESARY OF PAK CHINA FRINDESHIP IN THE QINGDAO AND FOUND THEM VERY VERY LOVING PEOPLE.THEY LIKE PAKISTAN.
yes may be…it will be good for pakistan, if india builds naval base in gawadar than pakistan will become the don of arabian sea…than indian's pride to be the don in arabian will be end…………..
sorry i wrote indian insted of china…..i am atalkin about if china build the naval base.
its nt true…its propaganda….dnt u get it from typical sentences…
again trying to divide our nation on this issue…and drag them in these discussions and divert their attention from present danger….
no, never. it is suicidal for pakistanis. but who will care my suggestion. pakistani rulers have been visiting china time and again and , and God forbid, might have struck some deal.
THIS ARTICLE AGAIN LIKE MANY IS STUPID AND DANGEROUS IT IS BASED ON MORE ROTTEN wEST MEDIA LIES ASIA TIMES IS NOTHING BUT A US MOUTHPIECE WHILE CHINA HAS SEPERATIST MUSLIM MOVEMEBT IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH PAKISTAN OR ALQEIDA THE ROTTEN LINKING TOGETHER OF AL MUSLIM GROUPS IS DANGEROUS WHEN ARE IDIOT MUSLIMS GOING TO REALIZE THIS AND STOP ALLOWING LYING RABID WEST MOUTHPIECES GO UNCHALLENGED IT IS TIME TO PUT THE AQEIDA FEARMONGERING TO REST AND REPLACE IT WITH THE TRUTH THE ALQEIDA THREAT HAS GONE ON LONG ENOUGH AND SERVES NOONES INTEREST EXCEPT THE WEST LOOK AT THE CONTINUAL DRONE ATTACKS ON STARVING SOMALIS AND STILL ON PAKISTAN ALLOWING THIS CONTINUAL LINKING IT IS TIME TO SET THERECORD STRAIGHT PEOPLE HAVE NOT HEARD THE TRUTH FOR A DECADE IT IS TIME TO CALL A SPADE A SPADE AND A SEPRATIST A SEPRATIST NOT AN ALQEIDA MEMBER MILITANT OR AFFILIATE
While Pakistan wants China to build a naval base at its southwestern seaport of Gwadar in Balochistan province, Beijing is more interested in setting up military bases either in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) of Pakistan or in the Federally Administered Northern Areas (FANA) that border Xinjiang province.
The Chinese desire is meant to contain growing terrorist activities of Chinese rebels belonging to the al-Qaeda-linked East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) that is also described as the Turkistani Islamic Party (TIP).
The Chinese Muslim rebels want the creation of an independent Islamic state and are allegedly being trained in the tribal areas of Pakistan. According to well-placed diplomatic circles in Islamabad, Beijing’s wish for a military presence in Pakistan was discussed at length by the political and military leadership of both countries in recent months as China (which views the Uyghur separatist sentiment as a dire threat) has become ever-more concerned about Pakistan’s tribal areas as a haven for radicals.
Beijing believes that similar to the United States military presence in Pakistan, a Chinese attendance would enable its military to effectively counter the Muslim separatists who have been operating from the tribal areas of Pakistan for almost a decade, carrying out cross-border terrorist activities in trouble-stricken Xinjiang province.
There have been three high-profile visits from Pakistan to China in recent months; the first by Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar; the second by President Asif Ali Zardari and the third by the director general of the Inter-Services Intelligence, Lieutenant General Ahmed Shuja Pasha.
The Pakistani visits were reciprocated by the September 28 visits to Islamabad by Chinese Vice Premier Meng Jianzhu and Public Security Minister Meng Jianzhu. This was prompted by two bomb blasts in Kashgar city of Xinjiang province on July 30 and 31 in which 18 people were killed.
The explosions provoked senior government officials in Xinjiang to publicly claim for the first time in recent years that the attackers had been trained in explosives in ETIM/TIP camps run by Chinese separatists in the Waziristan tribal regions of Pakistan.
The Chinese allegation was described by many in the diplomatic circles of Islamabad as a clear sign of the growing impatience of Beijing with Islamabad’s failure to control radical groups operating within its borders.
In fact, it was in the aftermath of the May 2 US raid which killed al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden in his Abbottabad hideout that Islamabad started playing its China card aggressively, perhaps to caution Washington against pushing it too hard. Shortly after the Abbottabad raid, Pakistani Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani traveled to Beijing.
Accompanying Defense Minister Ahmed Mukhtar had stated on May 21 that whatever requests for assistance the Pakistani side made, the Chinese government was more than happy to oblige, including agreeing to take over operations of the strategically positioned but underused port of Gwadar on the Arabian Sea on expiry of a contract with a Singaporean government company.
He disclosed that Pakistan had asked China to begin building a naval base at Gwadar, where Beijing funded and built the port. “We would be grateful to the Chinese government if a naval base is constructed at the site of Gwadar for Pakistan,” he said in a statement. Mukhtar later told a British newspaper in an interview: “We have asked our Chinese brothers to please build a naval base at Gwadar port.”
Knowledgeable Defense Ministry sources in Islamabad say that by having a Chinese naval base in the Gwadar area, Pakistan intends to counter-balance Indian naval forces.
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