Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has spoken to  Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan a few days back and demanded more security for its personnel in Pakistan after a recent terrorist attack killed nine Chinese workers in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

A vehicle, driven by a suicide attacker and laden with explosives, rammed a convoy of  Chinese workers who were going to the site of the hydroelectric project - part of economic cooperation between China and Pakistan -  on the Indus river near Dasu town in Kohistan district on July 14.

This is not the first time that the Chinese technicians and personnel have been attacked by extremist and terrorist groups in Pakistan. It is reported that the Pakistan army has been posted on sensitive project sites to ensure the safety of the Chinese workers. However, the present attack - that also left 27 Chinese personnel injured - is the deadliest and has been prominently reported in the global media.

Obviously, the Chinese government is highly concerned about the violent trend and must be wondering as to whether this would be an indication of the shape of things to come. The Pakistan incident against Chinese workers is all the more worrying as Chinese personnel and technicians are working on various projects not only in Pakistan, but in other South Asian countries like Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, as well as many African nations.

By launching its infrastructure projects under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)  in several developing countries, Beijing has not only made these smaller countries debt-ridden to China but has also promoted its economic, industrial, and political interests.

Anti-China sentiment in Pakistan

In the case of Pakistan, under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (though Beijing has clarified that the Dasu project is not a part of it) China is involved in a large number of infrastructure and mining projects apart from virtually taking over the strategic Gwadar port in Balochistan province. By these measures and through extending huge loans, China has ensured that Pakistan can never go out of its hold and control in the foreseeable future.  

Earlier, Pakistan had close relationships with the US and other western countries. However, these countries aligned themselves with Pakistan only as a strategic partner in the geopolitical conditions prevailing at that time. They extended grants and aid for Pakistan in several ways but never cared to get control over the economy and infrastructure projects in Pakistan.  The present role of China in Pakistan is much different from that of the US  and western countries earlier.

Unfortunately, in recent years,  extremist groups and highly motivated Islamist terrorist organizations have gained a strong foothold in Pakistan and many countries consider it terrorist-dominated. This is more than evident from the fact that countries think twice before agreeing to participate in any sports or other activities in Pakistan these days fearing security threats.

Today, the people of Pakistan are caught between Chinese domination on the one hand and domination by terrorist groups on the other. While many discerning citizens in Pakistan are concerned about the prevailing domestic situation and desire that their country should get rid of domination by Communist China and Islamist terror groups, the extremists know that China's domination over Pakistan is against their interests.  This is the reason some of these groups are targeting Chinese personnel in Pakistan.

Not only in Pakistan but even in other countries where Beijing has been trying to dominate, anti-Chinese feelings are growing. There have been protests in Sri Lanka recently against the growing Chinese presence in its infrastructural projects.

Beijing's realization

Perhaps,  the concern expressed by the Chinese PM Li about the terrorist attacks on Chinese personnel working in Pakistan indicates a realization dawning on Beijing that economic, financial, and military domination over economically weaker countries is not enough to achieve its expansionist goals. People’s power in such countries that Beijing seeks to control would be a serious challenge confronting China before long.

Even after several decades of occupying Tibet by launching brutal aggression and massacring thousands of protesting Tibetans, China is not in a position to allow citizens from other countries to freely visit the region and see the conditions for themselves. Obviously, this indicates that China has much to conceal about the present conditions in Tibet and is fearing the people’s power there.

Now, China has to reshape its policies and approach towards this region. It can no more take for granted the people in the smaller and weaker countries, where China hitherto appeared to be thinking that subjecting the governments to its control would be adequate. In world politics, money and military power alone are not enough to dominate any region. Beijing is bound to learn this at a heavy cost.

(The writer is a Trustee, NGO Nandini Voice for the Deprived, Chennai. The views expressed are personal. He can be contacted at nsvenkatchennai@gmail.com)