Securing CPEC: Challenges, Responses and Outcomes

TLDR: In this paper, the authors discuss the security of the CPEC project in Pakistan, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and its geostrategic implications and the terrorist threat landscape from Xinjiang to Gwadar.

Abstract: This chapter discusses the security of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) flagship project in Pakistan, the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and its geostrategic implications and the terrorist threat landscape from Xinjiang to Gwadar It argues that CPEC is one of the key pillars of the BRI The peculiar attribute of CPEC is its intersection between the oversea 21st Century Maritime Silk Road (MSR) and the land-based Silk Road Economic Belt (SREB) Its total length is approximately 3000 km spanning from Pakistan’s Gwadar Port to Kashgar, northwestern China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region The macro projects consist of the railway lines, roads, fibre optics, energy pipelines and industrial development zones Albeit the promises of sustainable development, since the announcement of the CPEC and its ratification the route designated under the corridor triggered much debate and controversy The major contentions regard the distribution of economic development and infrastructure projects of this mega venture within the provinces Besides violent extremism and terrorism, ethno nationalist groups are another daunting challenge for the economic corridor