‘China quietly holding talks with Baloch militants for CPEC’

‘China quietly holding talks with Baloch militants for CPEC’

Context:

According to a media report, China has been quietly holding talks with Baloch militants in Pakistan’s restive Baluchistan province for over five years to protect its $60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor initiative.

What is the issue?

• The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) passes through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), over which India has conveyed its protests to China.
• As CPEC will boost Chinese economy, China has stepped into some of the world’s most complex conflict zones
• Pakistan has welcomed the talks between Baloch rebels and Chinese envoys. According to Pakistan, peace in Balochistan will benefit both Pakistan and China.

About China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC)

• The corridor is 3000 km long
• It is aimed at connecting China and Pakistan with rail, road, pipelines and optical cable fiber network.
• It connects China’s Xinjiang province with Pakistan’s Gwadar port, providing access to China to the Arabian Sea.
• The project, when completed, would enable China to pump its oil supplies from the Middle East through pipelines to Xinjiang cutting considerable distance for Chinese ships to travel to China.