China, Afghan conflict to shape Pak-US ties: Experts
Islamabad: Foreign policy experts believe that United States President Joe Biden’s policy for South Asia would be driven by competition with China and developments in Afghanistan; and that Pakistan would have to position itself accordingly for keeping the bilateral ties on an even keel.
The experts were speaking at a webinar hosted by Islamabad Policy Institute (IPI) on ‘South Asia and Biden Administration: Engagement and Challenges’. The think tank on Tuesday said the event had been organized to discuss the new administration’s priorities for South Asia and to analyze where does it place Pakistan within its broader strategic interests in the region.
Daniel Markey, a professor in International Relations at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), said global competition with China was the organizing principle of Biden administration’s foreign policy.
“Washington now very clearly perceives China as the global competitor to the United States and this (thinking) is likely to remain for a long period of time to come and, therefore, all of what the United States does internationally will be structured with China in mind,” he maintained.
He recalled that one of the earliest foreign policy acts of President Biden was holding a discussion with Quad partners in Asia. This implies that Washington is now turning to alliances and partnerships as the building blocks for the global competition with China.
The expert urged Islamabad to strike a balance in its ties with China and US and create “openings for outside investors,” by offering them incentives and benefits similar to those extended to Chinese companies and investors.
Prof Markey, while explaining Biden administration’s approach to dealing with Afghanistan conflict, said that it was attempting to accelerate the dialogue, and progress towards a framework for an agreement between the warring parties that could enable US to stick to a timeline for military withdrawal similar to one given in the Feb 2020 agreement with the Taliban.
Biden administration, he said, is clearly committed to leaving Afghanistan, but wants to do so in a way that at least does not lead to rapid deterioration of security and establishes a regional compact that could provide a degree of stability or help manage instability, if it happens, going forward.
“For Pak-US relations, the crucial question is: what will be the relative near-term outcome in Afghanistan and what will be the nature of the cooperation between the United States and Pakistan,” he maintained adding accelerated dialogue and diplomacy can bring opportunities for broader cooperation between US and Pakistan.
Former Pakistani diplomat Amb Javid Hussain, while taking part in the discussion, underscored how US policy of propping up India militarily as part of its China containment strategy was affecting Pakistan.
Amb Husain said if US expects Pakistan’s cooperation on issues of peace and security in Afghanistan and in the Indian Ocean, then it would have to keep in mind Islamabad’s concerns especially with regards to the growing Indo-US cooperation that could disturb the strategic balance between Pakistan and India.
IPI Executive Director Prof Sajjad Bokhari, in his opening remarks, said Pakistani and US policymakers need to search for common ground. He said US must broaden its perspective beyond the Afghan lens and both sides should build mutual trust and undertake pragmatic cooperation for peaceful and prosperous South Asia.
