“Iron brothers” meet to expand trade, defence ties
China's President Xi Jinping shakes hands with Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Monday. (Photo: AFP)
Islamabad: Brushing aside India’s concerns, China on Monday cemented its “all-weather ties” with Pakistan by agreeing to build a strategic $46-billion economic corridor through the PoK as part of 51 deals signed, expanding the communist giant’s influence in the region.
Chinese President Xi Jinping unveiled his country’s biggest overseas investment — the ambitious 3,000 km-long China-Pakistan Economic Corridor during his historic maiden state visit to Islamabad.
A total of 51 agreements were signed in different fields, including infrastructure projects, energy generation, agriculture, education, telecommunications and research. Of the 51, 30 agreements were linked to the strategic corridor, regarded as the biggest connectivity project between the two countries after Karakoram highway built in 1979. It will shorten the route for China’s energy imports from the Middle East by about 12,000 kms. The CPEC will link China's underdeveloped far-western region to Pakistan’s Gwadar deep-sea port on the Arabian Sea via PoK through a massive and complex network of roads, railways, business zones, energy schemes and pipelines.
The corridor - expected to be ready in three years and provide about 10,400 MWs of electricity - gives China direct access to the Indian Ocean and beyond. Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who along with Xi witnessed the agreements signing ceremony after holding talks with him earlier, said the two countries decided to increase regional and economic cooperation and that it considers China’s security as important. “I have assured Xi, China's security is as important to us as Pakistan's security,” Sharif said.
India keeping an eye on meet:
Navy Chief Admiral R. K. Dhowan on Monday said India was ‘monitoring’ the military tie-up between China and Pakistan, including the pact expected to be signed for strengthening the naval power of the western neighbour during the visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to Islamabad.
“We continuously monitor the threat perception, whether it is Pakistan or China,” he told reporters, replying to a query on the growing China-Pakistan military co-operation. Admiral Dhowan's remarks came in the wake of the Chinese President’s visit to Pakistan, beginning today, during which the two countries are expected to sign a deal for buying of eight diesel-electric submarines by Islamabad, which currently has a fleet of five French submarines.
( Source : PTI )
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