01-12-2018, 11:10 PM
*** 13-Jan-18 World View -- US requests Pakistan's permission to ship Afghan supplies through Gwadar seaport
This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com
****
**** US-Pakistan relations continue as before, despite US aid cutoff
****
![[Image: g180112b.jpg]](http://Media.GenerationalDynamics.com/ww2010/g180112b.jpg)
China-built Gwadar port in Pakistan
It was less than two weeks ago when president Donald Trump made a
scathing criticism of Pakistan's "lies and deceit" related to the
Afghanistan war, and said that $2 billion in security aid to Pakistan
would be suspended. It was widely feared that this announcement would
cause US-Pakistan relations to spiral into open hostility and a
complete break. ( "3-Jan-18 World View -- US-Pakistan relations hit major crossroad, as US cuts aid"
)
Well, apparently nothing has really changed. Even the inevitable
angry words haven't been particularly harsh. Yes, some feelings were
crushed, and Pakistan's Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa said that
"the entire Pakistani nation felt betrayed." However, nothing worse
than that has happened. In fact, since Trump's announcement, there
have been two phone calls between Bajwa and US CENTCOM military
commander General Joseph Votel.
This was summarized in a tweet from Pakistan's military:
<QUOTE>"Comd USCENTCOM & a US Senator telephoned COAS to
discuss security coop post POTUS tweet. “Entire Pakistani nation
felt betrayed on trivialising our decade old cooperation. We won’t
ask for restoration of financial assistance but honourable
recognition of our contributions”, COAS. 'pic.twitter.com/oHEQGGvyIf'"<END QUOTE>
According to an unnamed senior Pakistani foreign ministry official:
<QUOTE>"There is no freeze [in relations]. We are speaking
to each other, at all levels. We are not sharing the details of
that at this time, but the effort to find some common ground or
traction on both sides is there."<END QUOTE>
This sentiment was confirmed by a US State Department official, also
unnamed.
Richard Snelsire, the spokesperson for the US embassy in Islamabad,
said: "We have received no notification regarding a suspension in
defense and intelligence cooperation."
In fact, a few harsh words from Trump are not the worst thing that has
happened to US-Pakistan relations. In 2011, the US conducted a
military operation on Pakistani soil to capture Osama bin Laden, and
that REALLY infuriated the Pakistanis. Later, a US air strike inside
Pakistan killed more than a dozen army soldiers and officers. In
reaction, Pakistan closed down the supply lines to the US forces in
Afghanistan, and only reopened them after the US apologized.
So US-Pakistan relations weathered those crises, and have apparently
weathered the current crisis, and things are going on as before.
Reuters and Al Jazeera and Dawn (Pakistan)
Related Articles
****
**** US requests Pakistan's permission to ship Afghan supplies through Gwadar seaport
****
Because Afghanistan is a land-locked country, the US-led NATO
coalition in Afghanistan receives supplies that arrive in Pakistan's
port in Karachi. The supplies then take a full week to travel
overland by truck to reach Afghanistan. When Pakistan shut down this
supply route in 2011, supplies had to take a very long route through
Central Asia.
So now the NATO coalition forces are asking Pakistan to permit
supplies to arrive in Pakistan's China-build Gwadar port. From there
they would be loaded onto trucks and reach Afghanistan within 24
hours, rather than a week.
And this brings to mind one of the great issues that the pundits
discussed after Trump announced the cutoff of aid to Pakistan: That
cutting ties with Pakistan would push Pakistan further into the arms
of China.
It's true China and Pakistan describe their relationship as as
"all-weather friends, deeper than the deepest ocean, sweeter than
honey and dearer than eyesight" and all that. However, there's a
whole nother side to that issue that hasn't been mentioned much:
Pakistan doesn't want to be China's bitch.
Particularly in the last one or two years, China has been harshly
rolling over Pakistan, with issues related to the $60-billion
China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). China is demanding full
control of infrastructure such as dams and power plants. China will
control thousands of acres of Pakistani land to gain access for
Pakistan's agricultural to meet China's food needs. Thousands or tens
of thousands of Chinese workers are already flooding into Pakistani
cities and towns, creating "Chinatowns" across the country. Mandarin
Chinese is already a required school subject in Sindh province. The
Pakistani culture will be transformed in many places to a Chinese
culture. China will install an elaborate electronic surveillance
system that in Pakistani cities, for use with policing, similar to the
harsh electronic surveillance systems being installed in China itself.
The worst may be that China is setting a debt trap for Pakistan,
similar to what it's already done in other countries, such as
Tajikistan and Sri Lanka. Pakistan will be $90 billion in debt to
China, and will have to repay China over 30 years. If Pakistan fails
to repay it, then China will take over territory and other Pakistani
assets. So Pakistan's relation with China may be "dearer than
eyesight," but that doesn't mean that Pakistan wants to be a
full-fledged colony of China, just as it once was, along with India, a
full-fledged colony of Britain.
There's also an emerging controversy over the port at Gwadar. China
insists that the purpose of CPEC is purely commercial: to provide a
way for goods to travel from China's Xinjiang province to the Indian
Ocean, and Gwadar port is the endpoint. But in the last month,
speculation has been growing that China plans to turn Gwadar into a
Chinese military naval base. The speculation has emerged over the
question of how China is going to provide security in the Gwadar port.
Both China and Pakistan are denying the speculation. An unnamed
Pakistani official is quoted as saying, "Pakistan Navy is
well-equipped to handle the security of Chinese shipments, and we will
manage the security of the shipments effectively."
Unfortunately, such assurances by China are completely laughable,
since China has pretty much zero credibility about anything. When
China began building illegal artificial islands in the South China
Sea, they insisted that they were purely for commercial use, and would
be popular tourist attractions. That was simply a lie. Today, those
islands are full-fledged military bases, bristling with Chinese
missiles, warplanes, radars, bunkers, and other military equipment.
No tourists are welcome.
So now NATO is asking Pakistan to allow its military supplies for
Afghanistan to transit through Gwadar port, and Pakistan is said to be
considering the question. Presumably, one of the issues that
Pakistani officials are considering is this: Gwadar is supposed to be
a commercial port, so let's make some money from it by allowing NATO
shipments, and then use that money to pay off the humongous debt we
owe to China. Whether China will be happy with that solution remains
to be seen.
Generational Dynamics predicts that in the approaching Clash of
Civilizations world war, the "axis" of China, Pakistan and the Sunni
Muslim countries will be pitted against the "allies," the US, India,
Russia and Iran. Asia Times and Jamestown and VOA and Daily Pakistan and Value Walk and The Hindu
Related Articles
KEYS: Generational Dynamics, Pakistan, Qamar Javed Bajwa,
Joseph Votel, Afghanistan, Richard Snelsire,
Karachi, Gwadar, China, Xinjiang, South China Sea,
China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, CPEC,
Tajikistan, Sri Lanka
Permanent web link to this article
Receive daily World View columns by e-mail
Contribute to Generational Dynamics via PayPal
John J. Xenakis
100 Memorial Drive Apt 8-13A
Cambridge, MA 02142
Phone: 617-864-0010
E-mail: john@GenerationalDynamics.com
Web site: http://www.GenerationalDynamics.com
Forum: http://www.gdxforum.com/forum
Subscribe to World View: http://generationaldynamics.com/subscribe
This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com
- US-Pakistan relations continue as before, despite US aid cutoff
- US requests Pakistan's permission to ship Afghan supplies through Gwadar seaport
****
**** US-Pakistan relations continue as before, despite US aid cutoff
****
China-built Gwadar port in Pakistan
It was less than two weeks ago when president Donald Trump made a
scathing criticism of Pakistan's "lies and deceit" related to the
Afghanistan war, and said that $2 billion in security aid to Pakistan
would be suspended. It was widely feared that this announcement would
cause US-Pakistan relations to spiral into open hostility and a
complete break. ( "3-Jan-18 World View -- US-Pakistan relations hit major crossroad, as US cuts aid"
)
Well, apparently nothing has really changed. Even the inevitable
angry words haven't been particularly harsh. Yes, some feelings were
crushed, and Pakistan's Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa said that
"the entire Pakistani nation felt betrayed." However, nothing worse
than that has happened. In fact, since Trump's announcement, there
have been two phone calls between Bajwa and US CENTCOM military
commander General Joseph Votel.
This was summarized in a tweet from Pakistan's military:
<QUOTE>"Comd USCENTCOM & a US Senator telephoned COAS to
discuss security coop post POTUS tweet. “Entire Pakistani nation
felt betrayed on trivialising our decade old cooperation. We won’t
ask for restoration of financial assistance but honourable
recognition of our contributions”, COAS. 'pic.twitter.com/oHEQGGvyIf'"<END QUOTE>
According to an unnamed senior Pakistani foreign ministry official:
<QUOTE>"There is no freeze [in relations]. We are speaking
to each other, at all levels. We are not sharing the details of
that at this time, but the effort to find some common ground or
traction on both sides is there."<END QUOTE>
This sentiment was confirmed by a US State Department official, also
unnamed.
Richard Snelsire, the spokesperson for the US embassy in Islamabad,
said: "We have received no notification regarding a suspension in
defense and intelligence cooperation."
In fact, a few harsh words from Trump are not the worst thing that has
happened to US-Pakistan relations. In 2011, the US conducted a
military operation on Pakistani soil to capture Osama bin Laden, and
that REALLY infuriated the Pakistanis. Later, a US air strike inside
Pakistan killed more than a dozen army soldiers and officers. In
reaction, Pakistan closed down the supply lines to the US forces in
Afghanistan, and only reopened them after the US apologized.
So US-Pakistan relations weathered those crises, and have apparently
weathered the current crisis, and things are going on as before.
Reuters and Al Jazeera and Dawn (Pakistan)
Related Articles
- US-Pakistan relations hit major crossroad, as US cuts aid (03-Jan-2018)
- Trump promises victory in Afghanistan by redefining 'victory' (23-Aug-2017)
****
**** US requests Pakistan's permission to ship Afghan supplies through Gwadar seaport
****
Because Afghanistan is a land-locked country, the US-led NATO
coalition in Afghanistan receives supplies that arrive in Pakistan's
port in Karachi. The supplies then take a full week to travel
overland by truck to reach Afghanistan. When Pakistan shut down this
supply route in 2011, supplies had to take a very long route through
Central Asia.
So now the NATO coalition forces are asking Pakistan to permit
supplies to arrive in Pakistan's China-build Gwadar port. From there
they would be loaded onto trucks and reach Afghanistan within 24
hours, rather than a week.
And this brings to mind one of the great issues that the pundits
discussed after Trump announced the cutoff of aid to Pakistan: That
cutting ties with Pakistan would push Pakistan further into the arms
of China.
It's true China and Pakistan describe their relationship as as
"all-weather friends, deeper than the deepest ocean, sweeter than
honey and dearer than eyesight" and all that. However, there's a
whole nother side to that issue that hasn't been mentioned much:
Pakistan doesn't want to be China's bitch.
Particularly in the last one or two years, China has been harshly
rolling over Pakistan, with issues related to the $60-billion
China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). China is demanding full
control of infrastructure such as dams and power plants. China will
control thousands of acres of Pakistani land to gain access for
Pakistan's agricultural to meet China's food needs. Thousands or tens
of thousands of Chinese workers are already flooding into Pakistani
cities and towns, creating "Chinatowns" across the country. Mandarin
Chinese is already a required school subject in Sindh province. The
Pakistani culture will be transformed in many places to a Chinese
culture. China will install an elaborate electronic surveillance
system that in Pakistani cities, for use with policing, similar to the
harsh electronic surveillance systems being installed in China itself.
The worst may be that China is setting a debt trap for Pakistan,
similar to what it's already done in other countries, such as
Tajikistan and Sri Lanka. Pakistan will be $90 billion in debt to
China, and will have to repay China over 30 years. If Pakistan fails
to repay it, then China will take over territory and other Pakistani
assets. So Pakistan's relation with China may be "dearer than
eyesight," but that doesn't mean that Pakistan wants to be a
full-fledged colony of China, just as it once was, along with India, a
full-fledged colony of Britain.
There's also an emerging controversy over the port at Gwadar. China
insists that the purpose of CPEC is purely commercial: to provide a
way for goods to travel from China's Xinjiang province to the Indian
Ocean, and Gwadar port is the endpoint. But in the last month,
speculation has been growing that China plans to turn Gwadar into a
Chinese military naval base. The speculation has emerged over the
question of how China is going to provide security in the Gwadar port.
Both China and Pakistan are denying the speculation. An unnamed
Pakistani official is quoted as saying, "Pakistan Navy is
well-equipped to handle the security of Chinese shipments, and we will
manage the security of the shipments effectively."
Unfortunately, such assurances by China are completely laughable,
since China has pretty much zero credibility about anything. When
China began building illegal artificial islands in the South China
Sea, they insisted that they were purely for commercial use, and would
be popular tourist attractions. That was simply a lie. Today, those
islands are full-fledged military bases, bristling with Chinese
missiles, warplanes, radars, bunkers, and other military equipment.
No tourists are welcome.
So now NATO is asking Pakistan to allow its military supplies for
Afghanistan to transit through Gwadar port, and Pakistan is said to be
considering the question. Presumably, one of the issues that
Pakistani officials are considering is this: Gwadar is supposed to be
a commercial port, so let's make some money from it by allowing NATO
shipments, and then use that money to pay off the humongous debt we
owe to China. Whether China will be happy with that solution remains
to be seen.
Generational Dynamics predicts that in the approaching Clash of
Civilizations world war, the "axis" of China, Pakistan and the Sunni
Muslim countries will be pitted against the "allies," the US, India,
Russia and Iran. Asia Times and Jamestown and VOA and Daily Pakistan and Value Walk and The Hindu
Related Articles
- Pakistan overwhelmed and China alarmed over the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) (12-Dec-2017)
- Massive China-Pakistan CPEC energy project said to end energy crisis 'soon' (23-Mar-2017)
- China takes control of strategic Hambantota seaport in Sri Lanka, raising concerns in India (11-Dec-2017)
- Massive China-Pakistan CPEC energy project said to end energy crisis 'soon' (23-Mar-2017)
KEYS: Generational Dynamics, Pakistan, Qamar Javed Bajwa,
Joseph Votel, Afghanistan, Richard Snelsire,
Karachi, Gwadar, China, Xinjiang, South China Sea,
China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, CPEC,
Tajikistan, Sri Lanka
Permanent web link to this article
Receive daily World View columns by e-mail
Contribute to Generational Dynamics via PayPal
John J. Xenakis
100 Memorial Drive Apt 8-13A
Cambridge, MA 02142
Phone: 617-864-0010
E-mail: john@GenerationalDynamics.com
Web site: http://www.GenerationalDynamics.com
Forum: http://www.gdxforum.com/forum
Subscribe to World View: http://generationaldynamics.com/subscribe
