South Asia news, business and economy from India and Pakistan. China seeks military bases in Pakistan By Amir Mir ISLAMABAD - While Pakistan wants China to build a naval base at its southwestern seaport of Gwadar in Balochistan province, Beijing is more interested in setting up military bases either in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) of Pakistan or in the Federally Administered Northern Areas (FANA) that border Xinjiang province. The Chinese desire is meant to contain growing terrorist activities of Chinese rebels belonging to the al-Qaeda-linked East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) that is also described as the Turkistani Islamic Party (TIP).
The Chinese Muslim rebels want the creation of an independent Islamic state and are allegedly being trained in the tribal areas of Pakistan. The Pakistani visits were reciprocated by the September 28 visits to Islamabad by Chinese Vice Premier Meng Jianzhu and Public Security Minister Meng Jianzhu. The core interests include anything related to sovereignty, stability and form of government. U.S.: Pakistan let China see OBL helo wreckage.
China Points to Pakistan in Xinjiang Attack. Pakistan's Black Pearl - By Urmila Venugopalan. State visits between friendly countries seldom produce surprises or unscripted moments, but the recent trip to China by top Pakistani officials managed to do just that. Upon returning to Islamabad, the defense minister, Ahmed Mukhtar, made two eyebrow-raising announcements: first, that Beijing had agreed to take over operation of Gwadar port in Baluchistan, and, second, that he had invited the Chinese to build a naval base there. China's leaders, seemingly caught unaware by these statements, promptly denied them. Nevertheless, Mukhtar's seemingly ad-libbed remarks revived the debate about China's ambitions in southwest Asia. For example, last week, a Wall Street Journal opinion piece provocatively titled "China Breeds Chaos" claimed that "China wants to get into the great-power maritime game by operating ports throughout the Indian Ocean.
" Is Gwadar an isolated case or an important platform for the projection of Chinese influence in the region? But is it? It all makes sense -- in theory. La Chine et le Pakistan plus proches que jamais. La Chine et le Pakistan vont intensifier leurs relations économiques et doper le volume des échanges entre les deux pays. C'est le résultat de la visite de trois jours à Islamabad du Premier ministre chinois Wen Jiabao qui s'achève ce dimanche 19 décembre 2010 au cours de laquelle Wen a promis que la Chine « restera fidèle dans son soutien au Pakistan, et attend la même attitude de la part de la communauté internationale ». Pour parer au plus pressé la Chine va participer à l'effort de reconstruction du Pakistan après les inondations de juillet et août 2010.
Le Premier ministre chinois a annoncé une enveloppe de 10 millions de dollars pour les réfugiés et un prêt de 400 millions de dollars. Les deux pays veulent également porter rapidement le niveau de leurs échanges commerciaux de 7 à 10 milliards de dollars. Le Pakistan bénéficie pour cela de facilités d'exportations vers la Chine grâce à l'accord de libre-échange sino-pakistanais. Visite d’Etat du Premier ministre chinois au Pakistan. Nuclear Exporters Should Take up China-Pakistan Reactor Deal, U.S. Urges. PrintShareEmailTwitterFacebookLinkedIn A high-ranking U.S. official yesterday said a multinational nuclear export control group should consider a plan by China to build another two atomic energy reactors in nuclear-armed Pakistan, Reuters reported (see GSN, Sept. 22).
The Chinese Foreign Ministry this week confirmed reports of a project by the state-controlled China National Nuclear Corp. to construct two 300-megawatt reactors at Pakistan's Chashma nuclear site. Beijing has already built two reactors in the South Asian state and is rumored to be in talks for a fifth plant. "We look to engage with China on these particular issues... my focus is to use the framework of the mechanisms that we have in the Nuclear Suppliers Group. " National Nuclear Security Administration chief Thomas D'Agostino said while attending the International Atomic Energy Agency General Conference in Vienna, Austria.
"We are not trying to tell other nations that you can't have enrichment," the U.S. official said. Seeks Details on Pakistan-China Atomic Deal. PrintShareEmailTwitterFacebookLinkedIn The United States has called on Pakistan to offer specifics on its nuclear power plant development deal with China, Asian News International reported today (see GSN, Sept. 23).
"We have asked Pakistan to provide details about the nuclear pact with China," U.S. special envoy for Pakistan and Afghanistan Richard Holbrooke said. "It is yet to be seen what international requirements [the] Pak-China nuclear pact fulfills," the Nation reported him as saying. Washington has suggested Beijing must obtain Nuclear Suppliers Groups clearance to build two new 300-megawatt reactors in the South Asian state's Chashma nuclear site. China argues that it did not need approval from the atomic exporter nations as its work at the Chashma site predates its membership in the Nuclear Suppliers Group. High-level Pakistani diplomats and defense officials met this week with Obama officials in Washington for a third round of strategic talks (see GSN, Oct. 20). Global Security Newswire - Pakistan Plans to Buy Advanced Chinese Atomic Technology.
PrintShareEmailTwitterFacebookLinkedIn Pakistan intends to buy next-generation Chinese atomic technology for use in its civilian nuclear power industry, the official China Daily newspaper reported on Thursday (see GSN, June 29). "Pakistan is in discussions with Chinese companies for imports of the third-generation nuclear technology," Pakistani Science and Technology Minister Mir Changez Khan Jamali said. Jamali said he would like to see the purchase occur in the next year or two. Chinese nuclear firms are already supporting development of the South Asian nation's Chashma atomic energy site (see GSN, March 9). Two reactors have been built there to date that employ second-generation Chinese technology. Beijing has announced its intention to help the nuclear-armed nation build two more reactors at Chashma (Liu Yiyu, China Daily, Sept. 15).
Pakistan seeks latest Chinese nuclear technology|Davos at Dalian Special.