Despite the inhuman characters of Lovett and Todd in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, the phrase ‘string of pearls’ is still an attractive metaphor probably because of the culmination of Johanna and Mark’s romance. Perhaps it is the same while using this phrase for strategically located seaports in the Indian Ocean region.
There is no need to consider the phrase as a cunningly coined term to maliciously defame China’s strategic contribution to uplift the region through connectivity and economic progress. There is no doubt that all locations on the string carry significant importance for connectivity and trade. The most precious pearl in the string is Gwadar; Hambantota and Chittagong are also important to keep the entire string operative even under the toughest global circumstances.
Efficient connectivity across the Indian Ocean from The Bab-el-Mandeb (Gate of Lamentation) to The Strait of Malacca can bring significant prosperity to the Indian Ocean countries. According to some estimates two third of the world’s oil reserves, 35 percent of the world’s gas wealth, 60 percent of uranium, 40 percent of gold and 80 percent of diamond reserves are owned by Indian Ocean countries.
According to Junaid Ashraf from Institute of Strategic Studies, Islamabad “The pearls are a metaphor for the Chinese seaports in Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Maldives. In Pakistan, China is building infrastructure at the Gwadar port, which is strategically located only 240 miles from the Straits of Hormuz. In Sri Lanka, the Hambantota port is of great significance as it is approximately six nautical miles away from the Indian Ocean’s major east-west shipping route. China is also interested in upgrading the Chittagong port facility and to establish its link to Yunnan province in China via Myanmar. Myanmar has a great strategic location as an ocean outlet, which would facilitate the flow of resources (oil in particular) to China, without passing through the vulnerable waters of the Malacca Strait. Furthermore, the Maldives is an island nation that consists of roughly around 1190 coral islands, grouped in a double chain of 2 atolls oriented north-south off India’s Lakshadweep islands, between Minicoy Island and Chagos Archipelago, where the American base of Diego Garcia, is located, making it strategically an important country.”
We need to comprehend a dual dimension of the ‘string of pearls’ theory coined by Western countries to delineate the strategic depth of the Belt and Road (B&R) initiative of China. On one side the BRI brought enormous opportunities, which we couldn’t capitalize so far, for Pakistan in the shape of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). On the other it led to innumerable challenges for Pakistan from both conventional friends and allies and traditional enemies.
In the case of enemies, it is quite evident and convenient to conceive that they will try their best to undermine the CPEC through every possible means utilizing our weaknesses. However, it is a little complex to understand the apprehensions of friends. As far as allies are concerned, they express their anxieties every here and then and continuously try to sabotage the project. But it is difficult for friends to explicitly take a position against CPEC.
However, we can safely determine that interventions from all these international players do converge and shape a huge threat for the safety and prosperity of Pakistan. If we remain unable to proactively address all pertinent aspects of the situation, we will probably do so in a crisis in the near future. We need to ponder two important facets, first the strategic importance of Gwadar being the most precious pearl in the string and second, our people on the route, especially in Balochistan and Gwadar.
The 19th century naval flag officer, strategist and historian, Alfred Thayer Mahan, had predicted that the future of the 21st century would be determined on the waters of the Indian Ocean in these words “whoever controls the Indian Ocean, dominates Asia. This ocean is the key to the seven seas in the 21st century, the destiny of the world will be decided in these waters.”
It is the responsibility of the governments of Pakistan and China to objectively analyze both hard and soft aspects of the project through a four-pronged strategy. Completing proposed projects efficiently should remain one prong of the project. Another and probably most important is the satisfaction and prosperity of people along the route of the project. The third should be to engage evident opponents, helping them comprehend the economic impact of the CPEC and the social uplift of local communities which project can ensure through growth & expansion activities by providing employment and other relevant facilities such as health and education to the least developed segments across the route. Finally, we should not ignore getting friends to join the benefits of the project, otherwise they can be even more harmful than obvious rivals of the project through their silent penetration in the society and creating chaos from within which will be exceptionally challenging to handle.
Junaid Ashraf further argues, “More than 50 percent of the world’s maritime oil trade is carried out in the Indian Ocean, which itself is believed to be rich with energy reserves. The Indian Ocean is the hub of most important strategic chokepoints in the global maritime trade, making maritime security and access to water vital to a state’s power and progress. The Straits of Hormuz and Malacca are also among such chokepoints through which 32.2 million barrels of crude oil and petroleum are transported every day.” Under this scenario, the significance of the CPEC grows manifold for both proponents and opponents of the project because CPEC liberates China from the clutches of these chokepoints to fulfill exceptional energy needs and also facilitates Chinese businesses to connect to the rest of the world in a most efficient manner.
It is a responsibility of both China and Pakistan to make sure that people, the most important stakeholders in the project on the route of the CPEC, remain happy and satisfied to make this strategic initiative a real success. Deprivation, poverty, lack of development and opportunities and absence of basic necessities such as education, clean drinking water, amenities and social security can easily lead them to accept any temptation to spoil the project.
We can’t ignore instances such as arresting Kulbhushan Jadhav from Baluchistan who was involved in terrorism and spying activities in the province. We have to address all reasonable concerns of our people instead of inhibiting their voices and curbing their demands, to help them avoid any enticement to become a tool in the hands of international players to create unrest in the country.
It is the responsibility of the governments of Pakistan and China to objectively analyze both hard and soft aspects of the project through a four-pronged strategy. Completing proposed projects efficiently should remain one prong of the project. Another and probably most important is the satisfaction and prosperity of people along the route of the project. The third should be to engage evident opponents, helping them comprehend the economic impact of the CPEC and the social uplift of local communities which project can ensure through growth & expansion activities by providing employment and other relevant facilities such as health and education to the least developed segments across the route. Finally, we should not ignore getting friends to join the benefits of the project, otherwise they can be even more harmful than obvious rivals of the project through their silent penetration in the society and creating chaos from within which will be exceptionally challenging to handle.
