Increasing Role of China in South Asia

Last month, India made a raid to a place where they claimed there was a militant camp. However, Pakistan denied this claim by stating that India fired at an empty hill. Then, Pakistan and India engaged in a jet fight that resulted in the capture of an Indian pilot after he ejected himself from the jet. Later on, Pakistan interrogators displayed the pilot in a bloody state blindfolded and handcuffed. This fueled anger and peaked tension to new levels since the last war between Pakistan and India.

As the tension peaked between India and Pakistan, the two countries began to threaten each other by stating their will to fire the warhead. India began to threaten Pakistan by saying that it would launch six of its warheads. However, Pakistan quickly responded back by stating that they would fire back “three times over.” This escalation between the two nuclear-armed countries could not be stopped with the intervention of US diplomacy.

The tension began to decrease as China became involved in the conflict. China played a crucial constructive role in the negotiation between India and Pakistan. Using its friendly relationship with both countries to its advantage, China managed to push for peace talks between the two nations. Wang Yi, the Chinese top diplomat, is also set to meet with the Pakistan Foreign Minister this Tuesday.

This conflict shows the growing influence that China possesses over South Asia. China is increasing its diplomatic ties with India, and it is also striving to strengthen its ties with Pakistan even more with this following conflict. China is now at the stage that not even the US’s influence can catch up to in Asia.