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Economic Times
23-05-2025
- Business
- Economic Times
China jumps to act as a peacemaker between Pakistan & Afghanistan to safeguard its interests in Af-Pak region
China has jumped to act as a peacemaker between Pakistan and > Afghanistan to safeguard its interests in the Af-Pak region and adjoining Central Asia amid India's growing engagement with Taliban and focus on Chabahar meeting in Beijing between three sides was also necessitated by deteriorating ties between Pakistan and Afghanistan. China, therefore, moved swiftly to organise a meeting between Islamabad and Kabul, explained persons familiar with the matter. At the informal meeting, moderated by China's foreign minister Wang Yi, both Pakistan and Afghanistan have agreed "in principle" to send ambassadors to each other's country as soon as possible. They also expressed their willingness to upgrade the level of diplomatic ties, a statement by China's foreign ministry has Beijing's efforts may not yield desired success given Taliban's interest to expand ties with India across spheres. 'China's efforts to cobble up relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan is in step with its recent initiatives including Global Security Initiative and Good neighbourliness policies. However, like its deal bringing Saudi Arabia and Iran, the current round includes balancing regional powers like Israel and India and enhance Beijing's hold over these countries,' according to Prof Srikanth Kondapalli, an expert on China from JNU. 'Saudi-Iran deal did not result in any spectacular developments in the Middle East. Likewise, bringing Afghanistan and Pakistan together is unlikely to resolve the structural problems in South Asia. Till China desists from supporting terrorism, its efforts to bring together these two nations will not yield positive results,' Kondapalli told Pakistan and Afghanistan on Wednesday agreed to expand the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor to Afghanistan during an informal trilateral meeting in Beijing. This has been driven by India's connectivity initiatives – Chabahar Port and INSTC and its impact on CPEC that is now increasingly being observed as an asset acquisition initiative instead of delivering global goods.
Time of India
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
China jumps to act as a peacemaker between Pakistan & Afghanistan to safeguard its interests in Af-Pak region
China has jumped to act as a peacemaker between Pakistan and > Afghanistan to safeguard its interests in the Af-Pak region and adjoining Central Asia amid India's growing engagement with Taliban and focus on Chabahar Port . Wednesday's meeting in Beijing between three sides was also necessitated by deteriorating ties between Pakistan and Afghanistan. China, therefore, moved swiftly to organise a meeting between Islamabad and Kabul, explained persons familiar with the matter. At the informal meeting, moderated by China's foreign minister Wang Yi , both Pakistan and Afghanistan have agreed "in principle" to send ambassadors to each other's country as soon as possible. They also expressed their willingness to upgrade the level of diplomatic ties, a statement by China's foreign ministry has said. Play Video Pause Skip Backward Skip Forward Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration 0:00 Loaded : 0% 0:00 Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 1x Playback Rate Chapters Chapters Descriptions descriptions off , selected Captions captions settings , opens captions settings dialog captions off , selected Audio Track default , selected Picture-in-Picture Fullscreen This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Opaque Semi-Transparent Text Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Caption Area Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Drop shadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. However, Beijing's efforts may not yield desired success given Taliban's interest to expand ties with India across spheres. 'China's efforts to cobble up relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan is in step with its recent initiatives including Global Security Initiative and Good neighbourliness policies . However, like its deal bringing Saudi Arabia and Iran, the current round includes balancing regional powers like Israel and India and enhance Beijing's hold over these countries,' according to Prof Srikanth Kondapalli, an expert on China from JNU. Live Events 'Saudi-Iran deal did not result in any spectacular developments in the Middle East. Likewise, bringing Afghanistan and Pakistan together is unlikely to resolve the structural problems in South Asia. Till China desists from supporting terrorism, its efforts to bring together these two nations will not yield positive results,' Kondapalli told ET. China, Pakistan and Afghanistan on Wednesday agreed to expand the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor to Afghanistan during an informal trilateral meeting in Beijing. This has been driven by India's connectivity initiatives – Chabahar Port and INSTC and its impact on CPEC that is now increasingly being observed as an asset acquisition initiative instead of delivering global goods.
South China Morning Post
12-05-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
A test for China-India ties after Pakistan credits J-10C in Kashmir fight
A thaw in relations between China and India is expected to be tested after Pakistan said it used a Chinese-made jet fighter to bring down Indian military aircraft, observers say. Neither Beijing nor New Delhi has confirmed the use of Chinese weapons in last week's four-day clash, but two US officials confirmed with Reuters on Thursday that at least two Indian fighter jets had been hit. 04:36 Pakistan says India will 'bear the repercussions' as death toll from strikes climbs Pakistan says India will 'bear the repercussions' as death toll from strikes climbs This may cast a shadow over the detente between Beijing and Delhi . The two countries had slowly been moving to restore ties after reaching an agreement in October to end their bitter military stand-off at the Himalayan border. 'China's role in the India-Pakistan conflict has come under [a] cloud for its 'all-weather' friendship with Islamabad,' said Srikanth Kondapalli, a professor in Chinese studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University. Lin Minwang, deputy director of the Centre for South Asian Studies at Fudan University in Shanghai, said India had long been suspicious of China's strong ties with Pakistan. 'It is likely that India would put the blame on China but overall, China is quite restrained this time,' Lin said.
Time of India
30-04-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Professor Srikanth Kondapelli accuses China of buying time by asking for impartial probe into Pahalgam attack
New Delhi: Professor in Chinese Studies and Chairperson of the Centre for East Asian Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University ( JNU ), Srikanth Kondapalli, has accused China of buying time and stalling Prime Minister Narendra Modi's action in response to the terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir by demanding "swift and fair" investigation into the attack. #Pahalgam Terrorist Attack PM Modi-led 'Super Cabinet' reviews J&K security arrangements Pakistan's General Asim Munir is itching for a fight. Are his soldiers willing? India planning to launch military strike against Pakistan within 24 to 36 hours, claims Pak minister Speaking to ANI, Srikanth Kondapalli questioned China's demand for "fair investigation" as Beijing did not allow global investigators to investigate the Urumqi incident or investigate the origins of Covid-19, despite the Australian Prime Minister seeking a probe and termed their suggestion "problematic and strange." When asked about China's stance regarding the ongoing tensions between Pakistan and India following the terrorist attack in Pahalgam, he responded, "The Chinese spokesperson... had condemned the incident that happened on April 22nd. He had also said that they expressed sympathies to the victims, etc. So, those cordial things have been mentioned. However, there was no support extended to India, as President Putin mentioned, or as other leaders have mentioned. The Foreign Minister of China spoke to his Pakistcounterpart, Mr Dar, on April 27th, 3 days ago. In this, he said that there should be a swift and fair investigation into the Pahalgam terror attacks. And now that is quite strange because when the Urumqi incident happened in 2009. The Chinese did not allow any global investigators to go into the terror incidents. Likewise, when Covid-19 erupted in China, there was no investigation despite the Australian Prime Minister seeking an investigation into the origins of the virus. So, If the Chinese have not allowed for an investigation. This suggestion appears quite unusual. And also problematic." by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 3 Reasons to Plug This Into Your Home Today elecTrick - Save upto 80% on Power Bill Learn More Undo He also recalled how India had allowed a Pakistani expert group to visit Pathankot to investigate the terror incident in 2016. However, he noted that Pakistan did not release any report on the probe, and there were no major consequences following the probe in countering terrorists. He said, "Secondly, the Pakistanis were allowed by India after the Pathankot terror incident, when the airbase incident happened. Therefore, we allowed a Pakistani expert group to conduct an investigation. After that, they did not release any report regarding the Pathankot, and then also there was no major consequence after the investigation was done in countering terrorists or in addressing the issue of terrorism itself. Though this is the Chinese offer, it looks like more buying time and stalling any action that the Prime Minister, Mr Narendra Modi, had promised in the Bihar election campaign when he said that we will pursue, we will have a hot pursuit of the terrorists or their backers." Live Events "So, the Chinese suggestion then looks like more buying time rather than either supporting India on the counterterrorism effort or in pursuing this matter in terms of the 1267 Committee of the United Nations Security Council. So, all this suggests that the all weather friendship which was reiterated in Wang Yi's speech with the Pakistanis, that is intact and that means that we should not expect any Chinese support for the counterterrorism related matters with China," he added. As many as 26 people were killed and several others were injured after terrorists attacked tourists at Baisaran meadow in Pahalgam on April 22. Following the attack, India has taken strong countermeasures against Pakistan for its support of cross-border terrorism. Kondapalli recalled that China indirectly supported Pakistan during the 1971 war. He spoke about the possibility of China extending support to Pakistan directly, as the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has already been in place, and Beijing has spent USD 52 billion on it. He noted that China also has a terrorism problem with Pakistan, as 34 Chinese nationals have been killed in 14 incidents in the past four years in Pakistan. When asked whether China is going to help Pakistan militarily or financially if there is a bigger flare-up from the Indian side, Srikanth Kondapalli said, "If you look at the history, 1965 India-Pakistan War. 1971 war, Kargil war in the 90s. When you look at these incidents, China had supported Pakistan indirectly, not directly, indirectly meaning opening another front, that is the northern front, the border front with India. They have released Yaks during the 71 campaign. They have demanded India to withdraw troops from Sikkim in the 1965 war. During Kargil, they have trained the Pakistan Air Force at Skardu Airfield when we had the Kargil incident. So, these appeared then indirect support to Pakistan. Of course, 2025 they may directly support. However, there are for the reasons that CPEC has already been in place, China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, they have spent USD 52 billion on this and even though the Chinese themselves have a terrorism problem with Pakistan because 34 Chinese people were killed in Pakistan in 14 incidents in the last four years. So, they have a grouse on their own. Global Times, when the Dasu Hydro electricity project blast took place, killing 9 people in 2021." "The Global Times said that China should launch missiles on the terrorist camps in Pakistan while the Chinese themselves say they should have a hot pursuit, including use of missiles. They today do not want India to take similar action on Pakistan. It indicates then the reluctance, but also possibly indirect to direct support to Pakistan in future if the Indian side opens a hot pursuit within Pakistan. So this is one factor. The second factor is as part of the CPEC, China has 36,000 security guards in Pakistan. They have nearly 20,000 Chinese workers in different parts of Pakistan on the CPEC-related issues or other construction jobs like in Gwadar, like in other places. So, if there is a crossfire between India and Pakistan, if there are Chinese casualties, because many of these are located in the border areas like the CPEC projects. If such a situation happens, it is likely that China may play more direct role in the India-Pakistan upcoming conflict," he added. Following the attack in Pahalgam, India has taken strong countermeasures against Pakistan for its support of cross-border terrorism. In the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 23, India decided to hold the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960 in abeyance until Pakistan credibly and irrevocably ends its support for cross-border terrorism and closes the integrated Attari Check Post. India has also declared the officials of the Pakistani High Commission persona non grata and ordered them to leave India within a week. Additionally, the central government decided to cancel any visas issued under the SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme (SVES) and ordered Pakistani officials to leave the country within 48 hours. India has also suspended visa services for Pakistani nationals, effective immediately. All existing valid visas issued by India to Pakistani nationals will stand revoked, effective from April 27, 2025, as stated by the Ministry of External Affairs in a press release. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has assured the country that the terrorists responsible for this attack, along with those who conspired to commit it, will face punishment beyond their imagination. Speaking at a gathering in Bihar's Madhubani on April 24, PM Modi declared, "The terrorists responsible for this attack, along with those who conspired it, will face punishment beyond their imagination," stressing that the time has come to eliminate the remaining strongholds of terrorism. "The willpower of 140 crore Indians will now break the backbone of the perpetrators of terror," the PM emphasised. He further stated, "We will identify, track, and punish every terrorist, their handlers, and their backers, pursuing them to the ends of the earth. India's spirit will never be broken by terrorism, and terrorism will not go unpunished. Every effort will be made to ensure justice is served, and the entire nation is firm in this resolve against terrorism."
