Pakistan’s geographical position is perhaps its greatest asset, yet throughout its 70year-year history, it has more often been a source of great difficulty. The fact that Pakistan is among the only two countries which form a direct link between the Eurasian heartland and the Indian Ocean has resulted in the region being a hotbed of rivalry for great powers - both during the colonial period and subsequently the Cold War.
It is this very tendency of being used a proxy that has inhibited Pakistan from having a coherent and independent Indian Ocean policy. This is regrettable given that Pakistan is the second largest country by population on the rim of the Indian Ocean There is much that we can do to change this, however, and become a power player in our own right in a region which is increasingly becoming a centre for maritime trade. Our unique position and cultural links across the coast of the Indian Ocean puts Pakistan in a unique position to play a leading role in the affairs of the region.
The coast of the Indian Ocean is vast. Starting from the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa and extending right up to the Swahili Coast to Somalia, and then across the Straits of Bab El Mandab to Southern Arabia, the western section of the Indian Ocean is essentially an Afro-Arabian world. Yet, the seasonal monsoon currents connect it to the Eastern part, which is composed of the luxuriant Asian tropics along the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal all the way to the Indonesian Archipelago and Western Australia. Pakistan, although slightly closer to the western sphere, is essentially in a very central position along the rim of the Indian Ocean. Along with Iran, it is the only country which connects the Indian Ocean to the Eurasian heartlands via Central Asia and with the vast Eurasian Steppe lying to its north, there is an important geostrategic role to play. Due to practical constraints and the fact that India will block any initiative Pakistan takes in the Eastern Indian Ocean, and in particular the Bay of Bengal, Pakistan must concentrate on expanding its network in the Arabian Sea and along the East African littoral. China, our strategic partner, can easily facilitate this venture.
Cooperation of Oman and Iran is vital and links with the two countries must be cultivated
There are many ways in which our position along the Arabian Sea can be used to further our objectives in the Indian Ocean. In decades past, Pakistan was a member of various Cold War-era military alliances and its navy had close cooperation with other members, in particular the United States. Recently, the Pakistan Navy has been involved in international measures to combat Somalia-based piracy which was bringing shipping in the Indian Ocean to a halt.
It is this aspect of the Indian Ocean and its two outlying stretches of water along the Arabian Peninsula - the Red Sea and Persian Gulf - that make it perhaps the most important of the world’s oceans from an economic viewpoint. The vast amounts of oil produced in Arabia have to make their way to markets in East Asia, Europe and as far away as the Americas via the Indian Ocean. Pakistan received a key economic lifeline in the form of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) as part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative which is all about linking the Chinese markets to the broader international market in a more comprehensive manner. CPEC can be the vehicle Pakistan can use to further its own objectives along the Indian Ocean Rim.
Trade routes of the Indian Ocean
Chinese investments in Africa are primarily centred on securing natural resources for China’s industries. These are then transported over the vast ocean to either the Straits of Malacca between Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore, or further south through the Sunda Straits in Indonesia to the South China Sea and onwards to China. The Gawadar Port and the subsequent highway network to Xinjiang can be used as a shortcut for many of these African products. Pakistan and China must on work a system by which this route can be used to the benefit of all three parties concerned - Pakistan, China and the African nations. Great care must be taken to avoid it becoming a form of mercantile neo-colonial exploitation. It can truly be an engine for mutual growth and cooperation.
Pakistan, with its Islamic culture and ancient links to the Indian Ocean and East African trade routes, can be a great facilitator between Africa and East Asia. India is planning on using Chahbahar in Iran for similar measures, but road linkages pass through multiple countries and vast distances. CPEC is the only viable overland route between the Indian Ocean and East Asia.
The Arabian Sea, stretching from South Asia, touching the Southern Coast of Arabia and onwards to East Africa is a region which has always had strong cultural and economic links based on the seasonal monsoon winds.
Pakistan must harness its position at the very crossroads of the Arabian Sea to become a regional trade hub. This can be done in many ways but some sort of a regional grouping would be an ideal scenario. The cooperation of Oman and Iran is vital and links with the two countries must be cultivated.
Although both of these countries may consider themselves to have a better claim as being centres of trade in the Arabian Sea, Pakistan is in a much stronger position to assert itself, particularly because of its relationship with the prominent power on the Indian Ocean today: China.
China is not new to the Indian Ocean and has been sailing upon its equatorial waters since the days of the great Chinese Muslim Admiral Zheng He, who completed several missions to Ceylon, Arabia and as far as East Africa during the days of the Ming Dynasty. Using all of its political, economic and geographic advantages as well as its diplomatic and historical links, Pakistan must play a greater role in the affairs of the Arabian Sea Rim.
Since the days of the Great Games, the Eurasian hinterland has always been in need of access to the Indian Ocean. However, this is a purely Eurocentric colonial view. Long before the rise of Europe, Central Asia had been linked to the Arabian Sea via the port of Babaricon on the India Delta, not far from modern day Karachi. The Kushan Empire, centred on what is now Pakistan, was the centre for this trade between China, Arabia, South India and indeed as far away as the Swahili Coast of East Africa. Pakistan, as the modern day successor of the Kushans, can once more play this role.
