Gwadar Port [File photo]

On Feb. 18, Pakistan formally handed over the right to operate Gwadar port from Singapore companies to Chinese enterprises. Because of the special location of Gwadar port, the Western media give extraordinary political significance to this move.

A win-win move for China and Pakistan

Gwadar port is located on the Arabian Sea coast in Pakistan's southwestern border area. Close to the Iranian border, it is just 400 kilometers away from the world's major tanker waterway, the Strait of Hormuz. The port is likened to a gate leading to the Arabian Sea and the Persian Gulf.

Pakistani officials said the contract is "China's second most important investment in Pakistan following the Karakoram Highway". Experts believe that this contract represents a win-win outcome for the two countries and brings a new platform for deeper economic cooperation between China and Pakistan.

Zhao Gancheng, researcher with Shanghai Institute of International Studies, said that if well-managed, the port will greatly improve the security of China's energy and trade related maritime transport, and can make important contribution when Chinese fleets enter into the Indian Ocean to maintain the security of international waterways. Former Ambassador to India Pei Yuanying said Pakistan has the intention to build an onshore pipeline in the area which will lead through western China. Second, Gwadar port will become a logistics support base for supplies and maintenance along the route of large fleet when the Chinese naval fleet goes to the Suez Canal, the Mediterranean, and the Gulf of Aden for the anti-pirate missions.

For Pakistan, the in-depth development of the port also represents real economic value and far-reaching significance. Gwadar Port is expected to become a regional marine transfer station and a strategic hub integrating transshipment, warehousing, and transportation. It will not only promote Pakistan's foreign trade, create a large number of job opportunities, ameliorate the poor condition of the people of Balochistan, but also open a window for the landlocked central Asia to reach out to the world. In addition, once the pipeline leading to inland is completed, it will bring the Pakistani government immeasurable wealth, and even able to drive the development of Pakistan's economy as a whole.

Over-interpretation of the West

It must be pointed out that the "strategic" value of Gwadar port is still in the "potential" stage. The experts also said it is too early to elevate Gwadar Port to such a strategic height. Initially Gwadar port had not been designed in accordance with the standards for the mooring of tanker vessel. Future extension and construction of tanker terminal is feasible, but the transportation of oil by road to China is no easy task.

Nevertheless, some Western and Indian media still "got ants in the pants" concerning this commercial transaction between China and Pakistan. In their eyes, any move of China to increase its influence on Pakistan and southern Asia has something to do with "expanding forces" or even "besieging India".

On Feb. 17, a report of Agence France-Presse said Gwadar port "is essential to China's offshore expansion" and "the move will allow China to have a potential naval base in the Arabian Sea".

The United States' think tank also "perceptively" notices that Gwadar port "plays the role of an intelligence station," where "China can monitor the activities of the U.S. Navy in the Persian Gulf, the activities of India in the Arabian Sea, and the U.S.-Indian maritime cooperation in the Indian Ocean".

Pei Yuanying said these are all over-interpretation and misunderstanding. As early as in 2007 when the port is originally built, India was already suspicion-ridden. The Pakistani side transferred the right to operate the port to Singapore just to avoid suspicion. Zhao Gancheng said that the so-called "besieging theory" and "expansion theory" are all "strategic attempts" imposed upon China by force by the "oversensitive" India and the West. China neither wants to nor needs to "detour" to the Indian Ocean to curb India.

Furthermore, the Indian Ocean is international public waters related to China's energy security, so China will take the initiative to keep the international waterway secure and unblocked. However, Zhao also said that the increasing importance of the Indian Ocean for China's energy security urges China to enhance communication and exchanges with the Indian Ocean rim countries and actively partake in public affairs in the Indian Ocean. In this regard, there is still a lot to be done.