Chinese and Pakistani diplomats have started talks to discuss a possible tit for tat nuclear deal in response to the finalization of the 123 Agreement between the United States and India. This has sparked fears of a new generation Cold War, between India and Pakistan, the difference here being that it is controlled by larger and bigger powers.

The good thing is that this is a war for energy, with the prices of petroleum on a continuous upward spiral, and fortunately not for weapons. The bad thing is that with states like Pakistan looking to acquire nuclear material, one can be rest assured that it will not be used only for energy purposes. A country which could sell its already imported nuclear technology to ‘rouge’ states like Iran and North Korea, certainly cannot be trusted with nuclear material. But then its supplier China is not very different except that it has become difficult for the western powers to dictate terms to it due to its growing economic clout.

However, if China does negotiate such a deal with Pakistan, it would have to face a lot of diplomatic problems with the international community and so it is understood that it will do so only if the 123 agreement becomes operationalised. The easy way out for it would be to increase the opposition in India to the deal and stall it there itself and that’s where it finds allies in the Indian Left parties notably the CPI (Communist Party of India) and CPM (Communist Party of India- Marxist). The underlying reason for this is, if India gets the deal, there is a fear that the US could use India as an accomplice in its efforts to thwart China’s growing superiority in the Asian region.

China’s retaliatory gesture of signing a similar deal with Pakistan would be to get things back to square one and put the pressure back on India. Of course this is easier said than done as the US has a much bigger diplomatic clout in the international community than China and would be able to help India get around the restrictions in the IAEA ( International Atomic Energy Agency) and the NSG ( Nuclear Suppliers Group) much more easily than Pakistan.

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Via: Express India