How China, Pak arms deal is changing military dynamics in South Asia

The police in China have ramped up <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/china-denies-cpec-intensified-pakistans-economic-risks-208789">efforts to close down illegal marriage</a> centres and brokers amid complaints of trafficking of Pakistani women to China, who were lured with fake marriages.

Local authorities in Heze, East China's Shandong Province, have stepped up efforts to close illegal marriage brokers which introduce women from Pakistan to Chinese men, state-run Global Times reported on Tuesday.

There are many videos of wedding ceremonies of Pakistani women with Chinese men. Many of these videos were claimed to be shot in Shandong, one of China's most populous provinces, the report said.

The scandal came to light after a top private Pakistani television station 'ARY news' last week aired images of several Chinese men with six local women in different rooms, including two teenage girls, at an illegal matchmaking centre in the eastern city of Lahore.

A Voice of America (VOA) report said the ARY channel crew showed up unannounced at the facility along with local police and interviewed the foreigners, their local facilitators and the alleged Pakistani wives of the Chinese men.

The local facilitators told the TV channel they would lure families into an agreement by saying their would-be Chinese son-in-law was seeking Pakistani citizenship so he could invest in the country as part of the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/pakistan-to-pull-out-of-major-cpec-power-plant-project-report-190158">China-Pakistan Economic Corridor project </a>(CPEC), the US $60 billion project connecting both the countries.

The report raised concerns of trafficking of Pakistani women to China. Since the CPEC project started in 2013, large number of Chinese are entering Pakistan to work on various projects.

The scandal came to light at a sensitive time when China is set to organise the second Belt and Road Forum (BRF) from April 25-27 to showcase the development of its mega trillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

The CPEC project is officially stated to be BRI's flagship project. The report said since February that civil affairs department, local police and market supervision departments in Heze have worked together to take down illegal match-making centres.

Two illegal centres in Heze's Caoxian county, which allegedly introduced local males to females from Pakistan for a price of more than $15,000, were raided on February 21, the report said.

Some match-making centres in Heze spread information on cross-national marriages among young people during the past Spring Festival and Chinese New Year holidays in February charging large sums of money to effect introductions to women from abroad, it said.

China is cooperating with Pakistani law enforcement agencies to crack down on the illegal marriage brokers, rejecting Pakistani media reports of human trafficking and sales of organs, a spokesperson from the Chinese Embassy in Pakistan said in a press release on Saturday.

"We remind both Chinese and Pakistani citizens to remain vigilant and not to be cheated. We hope that the public does not believe in misleading information and works together to safeguard China-Pakistan friendship," the embassy said.

A marriage broker surnamed Li, who works for a match-maker in Chinese city of Dezhou, also in Shandong Province, told the Global Times that Chinese men looked for foreign brides as it is not easy for local men to find a wife, especially as the gender ratio is so unbalanced.

In 2015, the gender ratio in China was 113.5 men to every 100 women - one of the highest in the world. It is forecast to drop below 112 by 2020 and 107 by 2030, according to the National Population Development Outline released by the Chinese central cabinet in January, 2017.

Li said that his agency had successfully introduced several couples. He promised that if the marriage does not last two months, the clients have a second chance to go to Pakistan to find another wife, the Global Times report said.

"Several matchmaking agencies in China reached by the daily confirmed that they used to introduce Pakistani women to Chinese men, but some had stopped the business because it was too difficult to get visas," the report said.

The police in China have ramped up efforts to close down illegal marriage centres and brokers amid complaints of trafficking of Pakistani women to China, who were lured with fake marriages.

The police in China have ramped up efforts to close down illegal marriage centres and brokers amid complaints of trafficking of Pakistani women to China, who were lured with fake marriages. Local authorities in Heze, East China's Shandong Province, have stepped up efforts to close illegal marriage brokers which introduce women from Pakistan to Chinese men, state-run Global Times reported on Tuesday. There are many videos of wedding ceremonies of Pakistani women with Chinese men. Many of these videos were claimed to be shot in Shandong, one of China's most populous provinces, the report said. The scandal came to light after a top private Pakistani television station 'ARY news' last week aired images of several Chinese men with six local women in different rooms, including two teenage girls, at an illegal matchmaking centre in the eastern city of Lahore. A Voice of America (VOA) report said the ARY channel crew showed up unannounced at the facility along with local police and interviewed the foreigners, their local facilitators and the alleged Pakistani wives of the Chinese men. The local facilitators told the TV channel they would lure families into an agreement by saying their would-be Chinese son-in-law was seeking Pakistani citizenship so he could invest in the country as part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor project (CPEC), the US $60 billion project connecting both the countries. The report raised concerns of trafficking of Pakistani women to China. Since the CPEC project started in 2013, large number of Chinese are entering Pakistan to work on various projects. The scandal came to light at a sensitive time when China is set to organise the second Belt and Road Forum (BRF) from April 25-27 to showcase the development of its mega trillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The CPEC project is officially stated to be BRI's flagship project. The report said since February that civil affairs department, local police and market supervision departments in Heze have worked together to take down illegal match-making centres. Two illegal centres in Heze's Caoxian county, which allegedly introduced local males to females from Pakistan for a price of more than $15,000, were raided on February 21, the report said. Some match-making centres in Heze spread information on cross-national marriages among young people during the past Spring Festival and Chinese New Year holidays in February charging large sums of money to effect introductions to women from abroad, it said. China is cooperating with Pakistani law enforcement agencies to crack down on the illegal marriage brokers, rejecting Pakistani media reports of human trafficking and sales of organs, a spokesperson from the Chinese Embassy in Pakistan said in a press release on Saturday. "We remind both Chinese and Pakistani citizens to remain vigilant and not to be cheated. We hope that the public does not believe in misleading information and works together to safeguard China-Pakistan friendship," the embassy said. A marriage broker surnamed Li, who works for a match-maker in Chinese city of Dezhou, also in Shandong Province, told the Global Times that Chinese men looked for foreign brides as it is not easy for local men to find a wife, especially as the gender ratio is so unbalanced. In 2015, the gender ratio in China was 113.5 men to every 100 women - one of the highest in the world. It is forecast to drop below 112 by 2020 and 107 by 2030, according to the National Population Development Outline released by the Chinese central cabinet in January, 2017. Li said that his agency had successfully introduced several couples. He promised that if the marriage does not last two months, the clients have a second chance to go to Pakistan to find another wife, the Global Times report said. "Several matchmaking agencies in China reached by the daily confirmed that they used to introduce Pakistani women to Chinese men, but some had stopped the business because it was too difficult to get visas," the report said.

How CPEC is used to traffick young Pakistani women to China

India does not view its relations with China through the prism of China-Pakistan ties, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Friday, but ruled out the possibility of New Delhi reviewing its stand on CPEC project, a major irritant in Sino-Indian relationship.

She also said New Delhi is alert to the economic assistance provided by China to India's neighbours and ramifications it could have for the country.

"One thing I want to assure here...We do not view our relations with China through the prism of China-Pakistan relations," the minister told an event to mark the 10th anniversary of 'Chennai Centre for China Studies' here.

Sitharaman brought up the issue of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), and made it clear that India will not "entertain any thought" of reviewing its stand on it, as it concerned its sovereignty.

"It is an issue of sovereignty, and we shall not entertain any thought (other than the stated Indian position) on that matter," she said.

The CPEC comprises a bunch of projects aimed at upgrading infrastructure in Pakistan and strengthening the economic ties between the two countries. The corridor will link Gwadar in south-western Pakistan to China's Xinjiang province, and would pass through Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir, a territory India claims as its own.

"The kind of economic assistance being extended to many of our neighbours are all very clearly impacting the economies there, probably helping to bond a relationship with those countries.

"As a result, even a strategic presence could be enabled. I see a linkage. This is something which I think all of us, you (Chennai Centre for China Studies) as a think tank, and we as a government, constantly be alert to and understand its ramifications," she said.

Sitharaman said Pakistani military was becoming increasingly dependent on the Chinese for arms and equipment.

"The focus of the reforms is therefore evidently moving towards the PLA (People's Liberation Army) Navy, PLA Airforce and PLA Rocket Forces as opposed to erstwhile emphasis on just the PLA," she said.

Noting that a "fundamental reorientation" of the China-Pakistan relations was not likely, the minister said last month's informal summit meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping was not just a "one-off" thing and that the two nations will "immensely benefit" from it.

"No doubt, in the long term, the relationship between India and China will immensely benefit from this engagement," she said.

Sitharaman said she was in China in April this year with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation's (SCO) foreign and defence ministers' meet where India made a pitch for a greater interactive forum. "And for that we should have definitely a hotline between India and China," she said.

The hotline, she said, would reduce the time consumed in reaching the empowered decision makers in times of confrontation at the ground level.

"We have certainly underlined the fact that the border personnel meet, flag officer meet can all happen. But we need to have a better hotline that would easily help us in being ready for a (conflict) resolution in a short time," she said.

India does not view its relations with China through the prism of China-Pakistan ties, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Friday

India does not view its relations with China through the prism of China-Pakistan ties, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Friday, but ruled out the possibility of New Delhi reviewing its stand on CPEC project, a major irritant in Sino-Indian relationship. She also said New Delhi is alert to the economic assistance provided by China to India's neighbours and ramifications it could have for the country. "One thing I want to assure here...We do not view our relations with China through the prism of China-Pakistan relations," the minister told an event to mark the 10th anniversary of 'Chennai Centre for China Studies' here. Sitharaman brought up the issue of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), and made it clear that India will not "entertain any thought" of reviewing its stand on it, as it concerned its sovereignty. "It is an issue of sovereignty, and we shall not entertain any thought (other than the stated Indian position) on that matter," she said. The CPEC comprises a bunch of projects aimed at upgrading infrastructure in Pakistan and strengthening the economic ties between the two countries. The corridor will link Gwadar in south-western Pakistan to China's Xinjiang province, and would pass through Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir, a territory India claims as its own. "The kind of economic assistance being extended to many of our neighbours are all very clearly impacting the economies there, probably helping to bond a relationship with those countries. "As a result, even a strategic presence could be enabled. I see a linkage. This is something which I think all of us, you (Chennai Centre for China Studies) as a think tank, and we as a government, constantly be alert to and understand its ramifications," she said. Sitharaman said Pakistani military was becoming increasingly dependent on the Chinese for arms and equipment. "The focus of the reforms is therefore evidently moving towards the PLA (People's Liberation Army) Navy, PLA Airforce and PLA Rocket Forces as opposed to erstwhile emphasis on just the PLA," she said. Noting that a "fundamental reorientation" of the China-Pakistan relations was not likely, the minister said last month's informal summit meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping was not just a "one-off" thing and that the two nations will "immensely benefit" from it. "No doubt, in the long term, the relationship between India and China will immensely benefit from this engagement," she said. Sitharaman said she was in China in April this year with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation's (SCO) foreign and defence ministers' meet where India made a pitch for a greater interactive forum. "And for that we should have definitely a hotline between India and China," she said. The hotline, she said, would reduce the time consumed in reaching the empowered decision makers in times of confrontation at the ground level. "We have certainly underlined the fact that the border personnel meet, flag officer meet can all happen. But we need to have a better hotline that would easily help us in being ready for a (conflict) resolution in a short time," she said.

No review of India's stand on China-Pak Corridor: Nirmala Sitharaman