COVID-19: Harbinger of cold warfare and significance of Free Balochistan

By Shahdad Baloch

The world is changing around us. As we move into an era where the political, military and economic dominance of the West is coming under pressure, the sense of uncertainty is unsettling and the reason is West’s soft corner for China. Xi Jinping in 2013 strongly suggested that China is planning for the future. Despite the traumas and difficulties, the challenges and problems, seem to be birthing pains-signs of a new world emerging before West.

The reason is West pondering on where the next threat might come from, how to deal with religious extremism, how to negotiate with states like Iran and Pakistan and how to build relations with the anti-west and hypocrite states and their people, how to settle terms with those states who are disregarding international law. West has confused itself with such aforementioned issues whereas; China is stretching its muscles across Asia, Europe and the world. Beijing with its policy of economic grants to underdeveloped states and technology to the western world is covertly driving its derisive desires of being a global leader of the world.

Amid the setback of COVID-19 the age of the west, in particular, is at a crossroads, if not at an end. According to a report by the Ministry of Defence in London, the world is going through a period of turbulence and transformation. Among the challenges to be faced in the coming decades, it declared, are the reality of climate change, rapid population growth, resources scarcity, the resurgence in ideology and shift in power from west to east.

The West’s growing preoccupation with China before COVID-19 is not surprising, China has been at the forefront of Telecom revolution, much of this has been built by Huawei and ZTE, companies with a close link to the People’s Liberation Army of china the aim of which is long term regional stability and mineral wealth in Central Asia and Balochistan for which China is granting billions of dollars to Pakistan in the name of CPEC. Concern about these telecoms companies was enough to prompt US congressional hearings which concluded that Huawei and ZTE cannot be trusted on the basis that they are too close to Chinese state influence and thus pose a security threat to the United States.

To attain global leadership China is creeping with a fast pace by investing 43 billion Dollars to build railroads that will pass through Iran, Pakistan, Turkey, the Balkans and Siberia to Moscow, Berlin and Paris and new routes link Beijing with almost the world. There is even talk of a tunnel under Bering Strait that will allow trains to pass from China through Alaska and Canada and into the continental United States. The Chinese government is building networks carefully and deliberately to connect to minerals, energy sources and access to cities and harbours and oceans.

Once China succeeded in getting its economic imperialism done, no country would be spared from its military doctrine of controlling the affairs of the world. History is evident that every imperial power gets its start from economic control of the world and ended to military might. China is busting its spleen with enormous pace because of the reason that west has been indulged in mere issues of protecting human rights violation and building of inter-personal relations with those nations which hates west the most. The example of which is fanatic states like Pakistan and Iran.

Western Human Rights Organisations have never held accountable Pakistan, Iran and China for Human Rights violations in laters occupied territories of Balochistan and the former detained province of Xingjian-the Uyghur Muslims-which was once part of east Turkmenistan.

Concurrently, West’s perception against China is at the stake owing to COVID-19, which brought catastrophe to the United States and Western world just because of negligence did by china that could be a turning point for West perspective about China. It would have taken decades for the Western world to understand China global ambitions but COVID-19 has probably brought cold warfare between the West and China. What mistakes the British did in their heydays are now birthing pains for the Western world.

Firstly, the division of Balochistan in 1839 among Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan rendered the West as friendless in the region. Secondly, the creation of Pakistan by the British is proving to be a major tool of a mass-producing factory for replicating anti-West rhetoric, which is a crucial ally of China against the United States and the Western world. The COVID-19 has already created a World War like situation countries with a fragile economy, rising death tools and reshuffling of allies are accelerating change in the paradigm of power politics globally.

China with its technology is replacing the domination of Western civilisation. This clash of civilisation may trigger the cold warfare amid COVID-19 because of the realisation that the West is getting in a short span of time. Any race of technology among the West, America and China desire for a crucial ally, strategic location and global market, China has sorted out its new allies and markets but America and West have yet to do.

The Baloch nation has always remained pro-West and America, with its territories occupied by Pakistan and Iran, but both fanatic states have suppressed Baloch nation beneath the nose of the West and United States. COVID-19 has rendered Pakistan as an optionless country that would soon succumb the mineral-rich Balochistan to China against the will of the Baloch nation. Not only Baloch nation suffer under Sino-Pak occupation but the Western world, India and the United States will be deprived of adjoining oceans seas, central Asian market and Asia almost.

Today COVID-19 is serving China’s interests because under the heat of this virus China is increasing its labours number at Gwadar to bring speedy construction for the Silk Road thereby retaining its hegemony in Makuran Balochistan coastal belt. All this is happening when Chinese birth COVID-19 has brought catastrophe to Western and American economy. Beijing is intended to replace global health institutions by building its own parallel governance institutions. According to Axios reports, Chinese think tanks are already floating the idea of “Beijing led global health organisations that would rival WHO” but the outbreak of COVID,-19 has underscored China’s place in an increasingly interconnected world. Now it depends on the Western world that what approach it takes to purge the menace created by china in global politics.

Besides, for durable peace and tranquillity, the Western powers coupled with the United States has to look to nations like Balochistan which is thriving for regaining its freedom since the first day of occupation. COVID-19 has left a lesson for the entire world that the globe cannot be left on the mercy of China and its allies like Pakistan and Iran but the region needs reshuffling where it’s incumbent for Balochistan to be a free state.