The China-Pakistan Nexus: A Challenge to The Us-Led Regional Order

Abstract

The emergence of China as a powerful actor has challenged the geopolitical prominence of US in defining the regional hierarchy in Asia. This paper seeks to explore the potential implications of deepening China-Pakistan relationship, commonly referred to as an axis that poses a competitive threat to the existing US-led regional order. At the center of this nexus is the multi-billion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a project carrying immense significance for the future economic and strategic partnership of the two countries. CPEC is not just an economic tool for China to accumulate resources through loans with the intention of dominating the South Asian region but Pakistan tactfully uses this instrument to balance the hegemony of the USA in the region and also to manage its delicate relations with India. The deepening of ties between China and Pakistan poses a daunting challenge to the status quo order in the region. In the same way, the two countries have upgraded their economic and military relations to becoming a formidable force that is checkmating the US hegemony in Asia. Additionally, CPEC is a concern to the US due to the fact that it provides an opportunity for an alternative trade route from the Arabian Sea and therefore threatens to disrupt most of the US economic ventures and transform the regional economic map. Nevertheless, the precarious nature of its environment is evident; risks and opportunities are shrouded in risk. Historically, Pakistan’s relationship with the United States especially in military aspects puts another dimension to the already sensitive relationship between China and Pakistan. Furthermore, its sustainability and viability is questionable, including issues of security, to internal socio-political stability of Pakistan as host country to the CPEC. All in all, the nature of the Sino-Pak relationship is major and that could alter the balance of power in Asia in the years to come. Nevertheless, the overall implications of this relationship are still ambiguous, depending on how the various stakes will be balanced, and how the United States will address this gradually transforming scenario. Therefore, it is imperative to pay much attention to the trend of this relationship to realize that such a shift of balance of power could have a significant impact on the future of Asian strategic setting.

Keywords: China-Pakistan Nexus, Regional Order, Asia, United States, Balance of Power