Karthi
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Chinese Ambitions in Asia
China’s immediate objective is to become the hegemonic power of Asia. Towards that end it has to eliminate US influence and power from Asia and slow down India’s growth. For both these purposes Pakistan serves as a convenient springboard. North Korea is its second springboard to countervail South Korea and Japan. China is increasing its involvement in Pakistan, including in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. It supports Iran with missile technology and is acquiring assets in oil in Iran and Iraq. It has laid a pipeline from Turkmenistan to China by passing Russian territory. It is supplying solid-fuelled nuclear-capable missiles to Saudi Arabia which in all likelihood will depend upon Pakistan for nuclear warheads. Sunni nuclear capability on both sides is a cause of concern to Shia Iran and consequently Teheran tends to rely more on China. That is a classic case of running with the hares and hunting with the hounds. An assertive China has today maritime and territorial disputes with India, Vietnam, ASEAN nations, Japan and South Korea. The Russians too are uneasy about China’s rise with their vast resource-rich Siberian territory that is sparsely populated, being vulnerable to China. The Russian concern is demonstrated through its willingness to supply India with sophisticated defence technology which it will not share with China.
China’s assertive behaviour is causing concern to the rest of the international community and is a repetitive story of the rise of a nondemocratic power raising tension and leading to wars as was the case in the earlier centuries. The concern is not about China starting a war but trying to dominate as an untethered hegemon. Its capacity for mischief by nuclear proliferation to states with regimes of doubtful legitimacy to resist externally induced regime change with nuclear deterrence has been amply demonstrated. Pakistan and North Korea are classical examples of such states and there are reports that the Myanmar military junta may try to acquire nuclear weapons from North Korea.
