CHINA/FOREIGN POLICY/PAKISTAN/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Senior Pakistani officials warned that the U.S. suspension of security aid announced last week will push their country closer to China, Washington’s main rival for influence in Asia, as regional alliances realign…
China has already invested heavily in a relationship that is redefining the balance of power in Asia, anchored by a $55 billion-plus infrastructure program that aims in part to boost Pakistan’s economy—in part as a counterweight against their common competitor, India.
The U.S., after decades of partnership with Pakistan, has over recent years tilted toward India, as it seeks to counter Chinese sway across Asia. That longer-term realignment is being accelerated by the Trump administration’s penalization of Pakistan and its calls for India to take a bigger role in Afghanistan.
Washington said it would freeze $2 billion in security assistance to Pakistan until it takes action against the Taliban and the Haqqani network, Afghan insurgents the U.S. says use Pakistani soil as a haven…
Some U.S. officials described China role in Pakistan not as a threat to U.S. interests but as a potentially positive influence, saying that Beijing also wants a stable Pakistan free of militancy.”
-Saeed Shah, “With U.S. Aid Cut, Pakistan Drifts Closer to China,” The Wall Street Journal online, Jan. 10, 2018 05:30am