China-Pakistan Economic Corridor : China’s Advantages and Regional Responses -Geostrategic Nexus between the Belt and the Road-

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to find the direction of China’s external strategy and domestic development, while looking for China’s advancement into the Indian Ocean through the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The main content of this research is about the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which is a representative of the six economic channels China pursues as a BRI sub-plan. Through this, I looked at China’s advantages and major countries’ responses in South Asia. Through CPEC, China can benefit economically, easily secure oil by entering the Indian Ocean, and reduce logistics costs. Furthermore, if China approaches the Indian Ocean more through Pakistan, it can significantly reduce the gap between China’s inland and maritime regions and the time to move goods. As Pakistan is an adversary country with India, the South Asian landscape could fluctuate greatly if China engages in economic cooperation with Pakistan. If China gains greater access to the Indian Ocean through Pakistan, it can considerably reduce the gap between inland and maritime areas and the time it takes to move supplies. With China’s jump into the Indian Ocean, South Asia has thus emerged as a region where the US-India and China-Pakistan alliances are at odds over the Indian Ocean, and—as in the North Pacific—a US-China conflict has set. Finally, this study looked at China’s internal plan and external strategies using China’s CPEC as a medium, but there is a limitation that it is not a subdivided study by field. In the future, more detailed research on diplomacy, logistics, and security is needed.