The port at Gwadar on the Indian Ocean in the disputed territory of Balochistan is a key part of the Belt and Road Initiative. It's part of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor—or CPEC. It aims to give China access to the Indian Ocean. An official CPEC roadway and energy pipeline shows plans to link Gwadar with China's [[Xinjiang]] Autonomous region. A 2020 US Naval War College study however says, Chinese analysts have come to view the plan as not viable. According to reports, “Shipping and industrial activity at the port are negligible. And for the vast majority of Gwadar’s residents, conditions are unchanged or worse.” China's fishing trawler fleet has devastated the ocean and forced local fishermen out. And many of the promised benefits from the CPEC have not happened. Major projects—including a vocational training center, medical hospital, and desalination plant—have either been delayed, scaled-down, or dropped. Large scale protests among the local population erupted. | The port at Gwadar on the Indian Ocean in the disputed territory of Balochistan is a key part of the Belt and Road Initiative. It's part of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor—or CPEC. It aims to give China access to the Indian Ocean. An official CPEC roadway and energy pipeline shows plans to link Gwadar with China's [[Xinjiang]] Autonomous region. A 2020 US Naval War College study however says, Chinese analysts have come to view the plan as not viable. According to reports, “Shipping and industrial activity at the port are negligible. And for the vast majority of Gwadar’s residents, conditions are unchanged or worse.” China's fishing trawler fleet has devastated the ocean and forced local fishermen out. And many of the promised benefits from the CPEC have not happened. Major projects—including a vocational training center, medical hospital, and desalination plant—have either been delayed, scaled-down, or dropped. Large scale protests among the local population erupted. |