New Delhi (NVI): China’s growing military aspirations for the strategic Gwadar port in Pakistan are disturbing not only for Balochistan but for the people of the entire region.

As China appears to increase its foothold in the port at Balochistan coast, analysts have painted a picture that shows a conflict of interest between some regional and global powers, including Beijing and the US, according to an editorial published in Sangar Publication, a Balochistan based news website.

Gwadar has long been touted as the site for a Chinese base suitable for People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) operations. China has been Gwadar’s chief promoter and investor since 2002, with the port beginning operations in 2008.

Chinese hunger for controlling markets in Africa and the Middle East through Gwadar port has stoked anger among people in Balochistan, which is already facing years of violence and exploitation at the hands of Pakistan.

Although China faces the pressure to increase control over Balochistan, it is dealing with a growing hostile atmosphere in the region with a number of attacks from Baloch rebels in the past.

Pakistan’s government has been encouraging China to increase its foothold in the strategic port of Gwadar but Balochistan is reluctant to accept Beijing’s move in the face of potential threats to its very existence. Opposition and fears are being expressed not only at the local level, but also by all major and minor powers, including the United States.

China is exercising its expansionist policy in the region in the name of development, with the help of Pakistan government. With the recently announced 25-year agreement between China and Iran, western Balochistan has also fallen into Chinese hands, which some observers and political circles have interpreted as the completion of China’s imperialist occupation of vast areas of eastern and western Balochistan on both sides, as per the editorial.

Balochistan is the first major step taken by China to control the world economy and the beginning of its journey, which some experts have termed as dangerous as it could lead to a war-like situation. However, the obstacles to China’s imperialist interests are fragmented and need a strong opposition from “peace-loving forces”, says the editorial.

Such forces should play their full role to prevent Balochistan from turning into any regional and global power, including China.

Given the potential scenario, China is not only active in the entire Baloch coastal areas, including Gwadar, for mega-economic projects, but also in the construction and transfer of large-scale defense and military installations and equipment in the name of security.

Some analysts are expressing fears that China is turning Balochistan into a reformist war front in order to protect its economic interests and deal with the potential war threats posed by its rival powers, with the inevitable dangerous and catastrophic consequences.

Gwadar port also emerges as a potential battleground between China and its rival powers, and such a war could certainly take a global form, with all the consequences for Balochistan and the Baloch nation.

According to the editorial, Balochistan has become a camp for Chinese imperialist dreams, so it will be imperative for the US and other rival powers not only to prevent Beijing from moving beyond Balochistan to the rest of the world, but also to force it to return home from a politically and geographically significant location like Balochistan.

-ARK