India must be worried about China's $46 billion gift to Pakistan. Know why

What might seem a bit uncomfortable for the Prime Minister Narendra Modi before he visits China next month is Chinese President Xi Jinping’s Pakistan visit yesterday. According to a news report in The Economic Times, Xi is to announce $46 billion worth of infrastructure projects and plans to sell submarines.

Pakistan being China's oldest and closest ally in South Asia, the partnership between these two is often interpreted as a caution to India. The ET report says, Xi, who was to visit Pakistan last year had postponed it due to security concerns, is visiting Islamabad at a time when the Modi government is trying to expand India's influence in the India Ocean Region and Asia Pacific. Since coming to power last May, the PM has visited several countries in these regions.

Xi, who will be awarded Pakistan's highest civilian award, 'Nishan-e-Pakistan', has said the trip was like a visit the home of his "own brother".

Diplomatic sources from Pakistan said the highlight of the visit would be the signing of an agreement to build an economic corridor worth $46 billion with Chinese assistance. The 3,000-km-long China-Pakistan Economic Corridor will link China's backward far-western region to Pakistan's Gwadar deep-sea port on the Arabian Sea via Pakistan occupied Kashmir through a massive and complex network of roads, railways, business zones, energy schemes and pipelines.

The route from Gwadar to Kashgar in China's Xinjiang is also a shortcut for goods from Europe to China and would help Beijing avoid the Strait of Malacca.

Pakistan is scheduled to also sign a deal to buy eight Chinese submarines for $6 billion dollars. This would double Pakistan's submarine fleet and also help counter India's increasing strategic footprints in the Indian Ocean Region that has contributed to discomfiture of Beijing amid its own ambitions in the area, the ET report reads.

These deals would help China offset its setback in Sri Lanka, where its massive Colombo Port project has been suspended and other infrastructure projects financed by it have been under scanner since Maithripala Sirisena ousted Mahinda Rajapaksa in the January presidential elections. The Gwadar port, which has so far remained ineffective due to insurgency in Balochistan, could emerge as the key link in China's Silk Road Economic Belt strategy in the region with no early signs of Colombo getting back to Chinese fold, claimed officials.

Chinese foreign ministry officials said on Friday that the projects would be the first initiatives under Beijing's Silk Road Economic Belt and Maritime Silk Road plans. Through this strategy, China is seeking to build an economic belt, covering countries along both the sea path and land path.

The financial daily reports, India would raise objections if China creates infrastructure in PoK as part of the corridor, said officials in Delhi. India had previously too opposed China-financed infrastructure projects in PoK, including hydroelectric projects. In 2011, when Delhi complained about the presence of Chinese soldiers in PoK, Beijing had said they were engineers involved with those projects.

The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor is not a single project, but comprises several projects related to energy generation, infrastructure development and business areas, according to Pakistan-based sources. The initial focus is on electricity production and some of the early projects would be ready in three years and provide about 10,400 MW of electricity. China has bankrolled several of Pakistan's civilian and defence projects over the years.

What would also be closely followed in this trip is Sino-Pak dialogue on terror groups in Pakistan and their spillover impact in the restive Xinjiang province. Delhi, as well as Washington, would like Xi to impress upon Pakistani leadership to deal with cross-border terror sternly. The security of Chinese workers in Balochistan, as well as in other parts of Pakistan, will be a prime concern for Xi. In his talks with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Xi is also expected to discuss cooperation on Afghanistan. This is significant ahead of President Ashraf Ghani's trip to India next week. "China and Pakistan need to align security concerns more closely to strengthen security cooperation," Xi said a column he wrote in Pakistani media over the weekend, the ET reported.

(Image: Reuters)