Alarmed by a recent terror attack at a Kabul hotel, injuring several Chinese nationals, President Xi reviewed the security and safety of projects and investments of Beijing in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
NEW DELHI: The increasing terror activities in Kabul are likely to mar Beijing’s plan to extend China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) to Afghanistan. A recent terror attack at a Kabul hotel frequented by Chinese diplomats and businessmen has Beijing worried about the safety and security of its present and potential investments in Afghanistan. Secondly, clashes along the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan have also added to Beijing’s concern about the safety of its upcoming and on-going projects not only in Kabul but also in Islamabad.
Diplomatic sources who are closely monitoring the developments in Beijing, Kabul and Islamabad told The Sunday Guardian that soon after the terror attack at the hotel in Kabul, President Xi Jinping held a high-level meeting in Beijing to review the situation in the background of China’s plan to extend CPEC to Afghanistan. “During the meeting, Chinese diplomats admitted that the growing threat of terrorism in Kabul, the Taliban’s inability to rein in terror groups, and unrest on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border are a setback for the CPEC extension plan,” sources said. Chinese foreign ministry is learnt to have reached out to the Taliban, seeking a thorough and impartial probe into the terror attack on Chinese citizens. Moreover, the Taliban have been asked to provide security for the existing projects of China in Afghanistan, sources told this newspaper.
In fact, China and Pakistan earlier decided to go ahead with a plan to extend CPEC to Afghanistan despite opposition from India on the issues of sovereignty and territorial integrity. CPEC is a key part of China’s most ambitious project Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), aimed ostensibly at renewing the country’s ancient trade routes. But the ulterior motive of China behind this project is to grow influence in the region. New Delhi has consistently opposed the project, which links Pakistan’s southern Gwadar port in Balochistan to China’s western Xinjiang and passes through Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK). India has objected to the expansion of the CPEC projects in any third country, expressing concern about its sovereignty and territorial integrity.
China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who was adamant on expansion of CPEC to Afghanistan, is said to have advised President Jinping to delay the plan for some time, given the growing terror activities in Afghanistan. The situation in Pakistan is also not normal, in view of which the Chinese government is in favour of being cautious in terms of pushing any new investment in the projects, sources said.
The strategists in Beijing are a worried lot ever since a terrorist attack on a hotel in the heart of Kabul left several Chinese nationals injured. The Chinese intelligence agencies have shared the inputs with the government that the threat of more such attacks on the Chinese nationals involved in various projects in Kabul is looming large, sources said. What is worth noting is that the attack in Kabul happened a day after a day after China’s Ambassador Wang Yu’s meeting with the Taliban regime’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, in Kabul. The ISIS-K or ISIS Khorasan terror group in Afghanistan claimed responsibility for the Kabul attack. Sources said that the diplomats have already communicated to the Taliban regime that Beijing is not going to consider any proposal to recognise the government in Kabul if they are not able to protect Chinese interest in Afghanistan.
What is more alarming for the Jinping regime is that ISIS-K is gaining clout in Afghanistan’s Badakhshan province, which shares a 70-kilometre border with China. “China would prefer to shelve its plan to extend CPEC to Afghanistan until Kabul succeeds in uprooting ISIS-K from the country,” a diplomat said, adding, “Beijing’s security frustrations are high after the attack on Chinese nationals in Kabul.” China’s foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin advised Chinese citizens and organizations to leave Afghanistan immediately, in what was seen as a signal from Beijing that it is seriously considering the proposal to halt its project operations in the war-torn nation.
Needless to say, China is the Taliban’s best option in terms of investments and funds. But if the situation continues to worsen in Kabul, China would no longer be interested in new projects in the country, sources said. “This message has been shared with the Taliban by the Chinese side during a couple of meetings that were held after the attack,” sources added.
India’s position on China’s CPEC plan in Afghanistan has already been made clear to the Taliban, Pakistan and Beijing, as well as to the international community. India’s stand is that any action paving the way for participation of third countries in so-called CPEC directly infringes on India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi has said, on many occasions, “India firmly and consistently opposes projects in the so-called CPEC, which are in India’s territory that has been illegally occupied by Pakistan. “Such activities are inherently illegal, illegitimate and unacceptable, and will be treated accordingly by India.”