Book Review : Asia?s New Geopolitics

The China – Pakistan Axis: Asia”s New Geopolitics (Paperback); Andrew Small; Random House India; Pp 320; Rs 399

The book The China-Pakistan Axis: Asia’s New Geopolitics gives a very useful account for researchers to understand the complexity of Sino-Pakistani relations

Siddharth Singh
The book titled The China-Pakistan Axis: Asia’s New Geopolitics provides a very stimulating description of the Sino-Pakistani “all-weather friendship,” by covering various aspects of the relationship. The book recounts that for decades, Beijing’s secretive ties with Islamabad have run closer than most formal alliances. Founded on a shared enmity with India, China’s backing to Pakistan has gone so deep that it was willing to offer the ultimate gift from one state to another: the materials that Pakistan’s nuclear scientists needed to build the bomb. Pakistan acted as China’s backdoor during its years of diplomatic isolation, the bridge between Nixon and Mao, and the front-line in Beijing’s struggles with the Soviet Union during the late stages of the Cold War. Now, Pakistan is a central part of China’s transition from a regional power to a global one. The country lies at the heart of Beijing’s plans for a network of ports, pipelines, roads and railways connecting the oil and gas fields of the Middle East to the mega-cities of East Asia. Its coastline has become a crucial staging post for China’s take-off as a naval power, extending its reach from the Indian Ocean to the Persian Gulf and the Mediterranean Sea.

Penetration by Pakistan’s intelligence services into the darkest corners of global jihadi networks are a vital asset to China as it navigates its growing interests in the Islamic world. The book explains both countries’ perceptions and understandings of each other and also reveals the complexities and conditionality of the bilateral relationship.
Book describes The China-Pakistan partnership as one of the long-standing relationships in the region, one that continues to grow stronger in an era that is witnessing significant changes at the regional and international levels. However, Beijing’s approach and strategy to engagement with Islamabad has changed over the years as China’s economic and military influence continues to grow. Recently, ties have been further deepened by China’s huge financial commitment to infrastructure development projects in Pakistan as part of the new China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, which is the flagship project of Beijing’s ambitious One Belt, One Road initiative. China views Pakistan as an important neighbour with a geostrategic location, having land route access to the Persian Gulf and occupying an important position in the Islamic world.
The book specifically looks at India as a key factor in the formation of the China-Pakistan friendship during the early years. Author provides a comprehensive account of how the relationship developed between the two countries over three crucial wars (the 1962 Sino-Indian War, the 1965 Indo-Pakistani War, and the 1971 Indo-Pakistani War). To enhance Pakistan’s military capabilities, China fully backed and supported Pakistan’s nuclear ambitions through close cooperation, making Pakistan the only nuclear weapons country in the Islamic world. The book narrates the nuclear cooperation between China and Pakistan and China’s role in helping Pakistan to obtain nuclear weapons and nuclear-capable missiles by supplying not only technology but also the necessary expertise and materials, including highly enriched uranium.
The author provides an in-depth analysis of China’s dilemma on how to deal with Pakistan’s military adventurism against India, very aptly capturing the real essence of Sino-Pakistani relations.
Overall the book highlights that India will remain the central pillar of the Sino-Pakistani relationship despite the changing geopolitics of Sino-Indian, US-Indian, and Sino-US relations. Even with Beijing’s improving ties with India, India is the country which continues to bind China and Pakistan.
There are many anecdotes in the China-Pakistan axis that explains the complex yet strong bond between the two countries. One of the book’s most interesting part is its discussion of how the Islamisation of the Pakistan Army reveals an often overlooked ambivalence in China’s approach toward Pakistan.
Book argues that the strategic dimension of their cooperation in grand economic projects continues to provide momentum, but it does not explain the commercial rationale of the relationship. In fact, China’s argument that its huge economic package for infrastructure development could bring about change in Pakistan’s social and economic makeup does not sound very convincing, given the past failures of large-scale US and Western financial and military aid to the country.
Overall, the book The China-Pakistan Axis is a very useful account for Indian researchers to understand the complexity of Sino-Pakistani relations. Author concludes that this strategic partnership, despite its conditional engagement, is likely to grow in the future.
(The reviewer is Research Fellow with India Foundation, New Delhi)