CPEC is a flagship of BRI, it is a mega project of trade connectivity connecting Pakistan and China via Kashgar. CPEC envisaged in 2013 and was launched in 2015 when the Prime ministers of both the countries meet and signed 51 MOU on different projects with the overall worth of 46 billion which has now exceeded 64 billion dollars.
The primary objective of CPEC is to transform the dwindling economy of Pakistan by making modernization in the transportation system and to connect the deepest sea-port which Pakistan was bestowed with Xinxiang province of China, which will reduce the cost and time for the transport of goods and the energy.
The vision behind the CPEC is to improve the standard of people living in Pakistan and china by establishing economic cooperation, people to people contact for regional connectivity. Furthermore, it includes integrated transport, IT system, agricultural developments, and poverty alleviation. Moreover, it also includes tourism, human resource development, and financial cooperation the most important one.
CPEC, an ambitious project aimed at changing the geopolitical dynamic of Pak-China’s relation by adding trade activity in the region.it anticipates economic growth, promotion of tourism, a foreign direct investment which as halted because of the war on terrorism going in the country, infrastructural development, overcoming the energy shortfalls and employment generation by making special economic zones. This mega project offers a long-term investment in Pakistan by developing the Gwadar Port.
CPEC is influenced by a range of factors which along the way will put CPEC in danger such as terrorism from the vulnerable environment around, especially the Pak-afghan, which will ultimately lead to the Instability in the region. Furthermore, it will also be opposed by other nations of America and India with other western nations which are perceiving China as rising peacefully in contrast as a threat to the United States’ current global order and its hegemony. It can also be threatened by political instability and institutional imbalance and separatist movement.
Measures to curb threats:
To cater to the three evils separatism, extremism and terrorism govt. has devised four-layer( army > rangers>police>askari guards) security plan, integrated with new security policy according to which an estimated 32000 security personnel will guard almost 15000 Chinese workers along the routes working in 210 small and mega projects.
According to the fresh plan, a team of 500 security personnel from china will be inducted to raise the capacity building of newly raised force and police to better guard the routes and the port said the security director major general ®Zahir shah.
According to this new plan, Baluchistan will get more security which includes 3000 policemen, 1000 Levis and 6 wings (5700) of FC to guard the routes along Baluchistan and said the senior official at the ministry of interior. Moreover, Pakistan’s marines and border security forces will also guard the routes. To guard the routes of CPEC and laborers Pak army has devised a special force consisting of 9 battalions inducted under the special division headed by a serving major general.
In Punjab, more than 3500 policemen, 740 askari guards, 900 rangers and 4100 private security would guard the projects of the economic corridor. Ministry of Interior has suggested having a record of Chinese official visiting and residing in Pakistan.
Moreover, NADRA will get and maintain the record of Chinese officials working on the corridor visiting or residing in the country and will share it with federal and provincial authorities.
In the area of public policy, the government has established the apex committee at both the level of politics provincial and federal levels. To deal with any decision making lapse and to govern the provincial resentments. The ultimate aim of the apex committee in the making of the decision with of collaboration of bureaucracy and army.
In order to tackle the Xingjian instability of the Chinese govt. has implemented two-pronged strategies, because the Xinjiang was becoming a major trouble spot for China as well as for the implementation of CPEC. In the two-prong strategy the central govt. of China had made several crackdowns on terrorist activities resulting in mass arrests and trials. 2ndly China has revised the previous strategy for the development in Xingjian considering the fact that development and joblessness are the main causes of instability in the region by doubling its developmental shares.
CPEC is a game-changer project that could transform Pakistan’s existing socio-economic fabric and can bring prosperity and stability in Pakistan.it is a framework of regional connectivity which will not benefit only Pakistan bit can transform the whole region by infrastructural developments across the region.
CPEC can appear to be a sign for both Pakistan and China, this will provide China an alternate route to China for secure trade and energy transport in the Indian Ocean and will provide a ground to challenge the Indian sway in the ocean.
The writer is a student at National Defense University from Attock.