\nIf closely assayed, the port at Gwadar, Pakistan\u2014touted as part of China\u2019s string of maritime gems\u2014loses its luster, looking more like a counterfeit than the real thing. China\u2019s investment in the construction of the Port of Gwadar in western Pakistan has fueled speculation for nearly a decade that the Pakistani port is a keystone of China\u2019s political, economic, and military ambitions in the Indian Ocean\u2014similar to Singapore\u2019s position in Southeast Asia at the height of the British Empire. Coupled with investment in Gwadar is the possible construction of a 1,500-mile oil pipeline running from the port to western China, which ostensibly would reduce China\u2019s dependency on vulnerable oil imports transported through the Strait of Malacca.\n<\/p>\n
\nOn the surface, the argument is compelling and appears strategically sound. In 2001 China agreed to contribute funds to the construction and development of a modern deepwater port at Gwadar in the Baluchistan region of western Pakistan. Construction of the first phase of the project began in March 2002, with China providing $198 million in funding and Pakistan providing $50 million.\n<\/p>\n
\nPakistan views a modern port at Gwadar as key to developing the Baluchistan region of Pakistan and as a regional hub for the shipment of goods to and from Pakistan and to and from landlocked nations in Central Asia. Memories of India\u2019s blockade of Karachi during the 1971 Indo-Pakistani War and Gwadar\u2019s position 450 miles west of Karachi also have led some in Pakistan to view Gwadar as strategic depth for Pakistan\u2019s navy in the event of a conflict with India.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\nIf closely assayed, the port at Gwadar, Pakistan<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2857,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"persona":[],"class_list":["post-2856","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n