New Pakistani Port Draws Mixed Reviews

Pakistani artisans prepare new boat for fishing on the beach of Gwadar, about 700 kilometers (435 miles) west of Karachi, Pakistan, Tuesday, March 20, 2007. By the azure waters of the Arabian Sea, a remote Pakistani fishing town is being transformed into a massive deep sea port that promises quicker passage for Chinese exports to the Middle East and beyond. (AP Photo/Shakil Adil) (Shakil Adil - AP)

GWADAR, Pakistan -- By the waters of the Arabian Sea, a remote Pakistani fishing town is being transformed into a massive deep sea port to cash in on the inexorable rise of the Chinese economy.

Gwadar port, a $250 million project that is 80 percent Chinese funded, is expected to start operations later this year to capitalize on its strategic location between South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. The port lies near the Straits of Hormuz, through which about 20 percent of the world's oil is transported.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz recently claimed Gwadar could "change the map of shipping in the world" and serve as a regional energy hub for shipping and refining oil from the Gulf.

But the development of this barren peninsula has received a hostile response from impoverished tribesmen who say it is depriving them of fishing waters and bringing no economic benefit to locals.

Tribal insurgents are suspected in the killings of six Chinese workers in the Baluchistan province since the project got off the ground five years ago _ including a May 2004 bombing that killed three Chinese engineers.

China's interest is driven by concerns about energy security. It is seeking a place to anchor pipelines to secure oil and gas supplies from the Persian Gulf. Beijing also believes that helping Pakistan develop will boost economic activity in its far western province of Xinjiang and dampen a simmering, low-intensity rebellion.

"It will greatly benefit China's trade to Europe, Africa and Middle East," said Moonis Ahmer, an international affairs professor at the University of Karachi. "It will also give a boost to the economy in southwestern Pakistan."

Some international security experts speculate that the Chinese navy may use Gwadar for port calls, though current arrangements do not explicitly provide for that.

"You can never rule out the strategic use of the port if China has sufficient economic interests in the region that it wants to protect," said Ayesha Siddiqa Agha, a Pakistani defense analyst. "But that would provoke India, which it does not want to do."

China-India ties have improved lately, but are still strained because the two sides fought a war in 1962 over their border.

China, which has long-standing ties with Pakistan, has financed $198 million of the total cost of $248 million to build the port, with the rest covered by the Pakistan government.

State-owned China Harbor Engineering Company did most of the port construction, bringing in 350 Chinese engineers, technicians and other skilled workers. With most of the port construction complete, only a few Chinese workers now remain in Gwadar.