BEIJING: China has not asked for military access to Pakistan’s Chinese-funded, deep-water port of Gwadar, a senior Pakistani rear admiral said on Friday, amid persistent speculation in India and the United States it could become a Chinese naval base.
Gwadar, in the southwestern province of Baluchistan, is the crown jewel of China’s $60 billion investment in Belt and Road Initiative projects in Pakistan.
The plan is to turn Gwadar into a trans-shipment hub and mega-port to be built alongside special economic zones from which export-focused industries will ship goods worldwide. A web of energy pipelines, roads and rail links will connect Gwadar to China’s western regions.
Last year the Pentagon singled out Pakistan as a possible location for a future Chinese military base, though China has said that is pure speculation. Diplomatic and security sources see Gwadar as the likely location.
Speaking at the Xiangshan Forum in Beijing, which China styles as its answer to the annual Shangri-La Dialogue security forum in Singapore, Rear Admiral Javaid Iqbal, Navy Secretary of the Pakistan Navy, said Gwadar is a “significant addition to the regional maritime landscape.”
“Let me emphasize that the Gwadar port is purely a commercial venture and has no military overtones,” he told the forum.
“Suitably located outside the potentially risky and confined waters of the Gulf, Gwadar has the potential to act not only as a transit port for China and Central Asia but also a trans-shipment port impacting the prosperity of the entire region,” Iqbal added.
Speaking later to Reuters, he said he was very specific about the non-military nature of the port.
“The Gwadar port has no military dimension. It will be just a commercial port,” Iqbal said. “The Pakistan navy will maintain a presence to ensure maritime security, to ensure the security of the port.”
“The geopolitical debate that somehow goes on in the media about Gwadar being used as a foreign military base is not correct at all.”
Asked whether China had specifically asked for military access, he answered: “No, not at all.”
China opened its first overseas military base, which it formally calls a logistics facility, in the Horn of Africa country Djibouti last year.
Djibouti’s position on the northwestern edge of the Indian Ocean has fueled worries in India that it would become another of China’s “string of pearls” of military alliances and assets ringing India, including Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Sri Lanka.
China has repeatedly downplayed expectations it could be about to embark on a plan to build military bases around the world, even as it ramps up an impressive military modernization program.
China not asked for military access to Gwadar, Pakistan admiral says
China not asked for military access to Gwadar, Pakistan admiral says
- Gwadar, in the southwestern province of Baluchistan, is the crown jewel of China’s $60 billion investment in Belt and Road Initiative projects in Pakistan
- “The Gwadar port is purely a commercial venture and has no military overtones,” admiral Javaid Iqbal, Navy Secretary of the Pakistan Navy told a forum in Singapore
Sri Lanka seal gritty T20 win over Pakistan to level series
- In a contest trimmed to 12 overs a side, Sri Lanka scored 160 runs before choking Pakistan to 146-8
- The series saw the visitors clinch the opener by six wickets before rain washed out the second game
Dambulla: Sri Lanka eked out a hard fought 14-run victory over Pakistan in the third T20 at rain-hit Dambulla on Sunday, easing their batting jitters and squaring the three-match series 1-1.
The series, a warm-up for the T20 World Cup with Pakistan set to play all their matches in Sri Lanka due to political tensions with nuclear-armed neighbors India, saw the visitors clinch the opener by six wickets before rain washed out the second game.
“We were a bit worried about our batting and I’m glad we addressed that today,” said Wanindu Hasaranga, who walked away with both Player of the Match and Player of the Series honors.
“The bowlers did a good job too. The ball was wet and it wasn’t easy. We tried to bowl wide and slow and asked them to take risks.”
Hasaranga took four wickets in the game and in the process completed 150 wickets in T20Is.
In a contest trimmed to 12 overs a side, Sri Lanka muscled their way to a competitive 160 before choking Pakistan to 146-8.
Having been bowled out inside 20 overs in the series opener, Sri Lanka needed a statement with the bat and duly ticked every box after being put in.
The top order laid the platform and the middle order applied the finishing touches.
Wicket-keeper Kusal Mendis made hay under the Power Play, blasting 30 off 16 balls while Dhananjaya de Silva (22 off 15) and Charith Asalanka (21 off 13) kept the scoreboard ticking.
Skipper Dasun Shanaka then swung the momentum decisively, clubbing 34 off just nine deliveries, peppered with five towering sixes.
The sixth-wicket stand between Shanaka and Janith Liyanage produced 52 runs in just 15 balls and proved the turning point, shifting the game firmly Sri Lanka’s way.
Pakistan came out swinging in reply, racing to 50 in just 19 balls with captain Salman Agha hammering 45 off 12 balls, including five fours and three sixes.
But once the field spread, Sri Lanka tightened the screws, applied the choke and forced the asking rate to spiral.
“It was a good game of cricket,” Agha said.
“We conceded too many runs, but our batting effort was good. Unfortunately, we fell short. We know we are going to play all our World Cup games in Sri Lanka and it’s important that we played in similar conditions,” he added.
