A high-powered delegation from China, led by General Fan Changlong, the senior vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), is due to visit New Delhi and Islamabad later this month to take up crucial issues regarding threats to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and evolving joint efforts to counter such attacks.
Following their visit to India, General Fan’s delegation will arrive in Pakistan. During the visit, the Chinese delegation would meet top military leadership to discuss the pace of progress on the CPEC construction work.
“The Chinese delegation would also praise the Pakistan army’s immense success in Zarb-e-Azb, which has destroyed terrorist networks. The Chinese side is likely to pay exclusive tributes to Pakistani security Forces for comprehensively eliminating whatever little presence of ETIM there was in the Pakistan-Afghanistan border,” a diplomatic source informed Pakistan Today, while requesting not being named.
“During the upcoming India visit, the Chinese side is set to seek certain explanations from the Indian government about the alleged funding and training by agents of Research & Analysis Wing (RAW) to the militants of the East Turkistan Independence Movement (ETIM) at Kunar, Nuristan, Kandahar and other parts of Afghanistan. China has evidence that the Indians have been funding the ETIM for not only carrying out terror attacks in Xinjiang Province but also for also creating potential threats to CPEC through Balochistan,” the source said.
“The Chinese delegation would confront the Indians with solid evidences and will seek strong assurances from Indians about immediately and completely withdrawing its support and all forms and manifestations to the ETIM militants in Afghanistan and elsewhere,” the source added.
This would be for the first time China would take up the issue of covert support by Raw to the ETIM and threats to the CPEC. India has repeatedly made public opposition to the CPEC, arguing that any trade route through Azad Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan would tantamount to giving legitimacy to Pakistan’s claim over Kashmir.
Following Indian opposition to CPEC, Indian ministers have also threatened to sabotage the trade route despite the fact that China has repeatedly made it clear that no opposition would be tolerated and the project would be completed come what may.
International media has also fortified the Chinese fears, indicating that there were strong evidences of Indian financing and training of terror groups like Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and ETIM, which are based inside Afghanistan.
“General Fan would also discuss the border disputes and the status of disputed Arunachal Pardesh with his Indian counterparts,” the source added.
The visit by the top-notch Chinese General to India is being seen by defence observers with a great significance in the backdrop of the news in the international media about Indian army going hyperactive on its borders with China.
Indian National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Kumar Doval has also advocated for arming, funding and training the terrorist outfits to conduct terrorist activities inside territory of the “enemy neighbours”.
Under his doctrine, Indian Armed Forces are building new airstrips and runways, and raising and deploying more mountain warfare divisions along border belts with China and Pakistan.
A former Indian Army General Deepak Kumar had claimed that Indian Army was capable of winning a war with China and Pakistan within 48 hours and that too with simultaneous fronts. However, General Deepak’s claim was countered recently by a retired top Chinese General who warned Indians against stirring up “new trouble” in a long-running border dispute.
Major General Luo Yuan, the then Deputy Director General of the World Military Research Department at People’s Liberation Army academy, had told reporters in July 2013 that the Indian side should not provoke new problems and increase military deployment at the border areas and stir up new trouble.
Most probably India will wait for the 46 Billion to be invested and the project be completed. After that the game is Indias to decide when to stall operations on the CPEC. A small interference then can put paid to the smooth operations of the project. A completed heavy investment project hands over a disproportionate advantage to India and will give it a long handle to negotiate strongly with both China and Pakistan. .
Pakistan is not Myanmar, Bhutan or Nepal, where Indians treat these like its satellite. However both the countries behave like responsible nations. India should request Pakistan and China to be the part of CPEC. India instead of investing in Chah Bahar port of Iran should become a part of CPEC. through Chah Bahar it can trade with Central Asian Republics. these are relatively poor countries as compared to China. instead of trading with relatively poor countries India will be benefited by having trade with Chnia through CPEC.
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