The China–Pakistan–United States Strategic Triangle: From Cold War to the “War on Terrorism”
2011; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 38; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1080/00927678.2011.604291
ISSN1940-1590
Autores Tópico(s)International Relations and Foreign Policy
ResumoAbstract The U.S. Navy SEAL raid in Abbottabad, Pakistan, and Islamabad's subsequent turn toward China have highlighted one of the most remarkable legacies of the Cold War: the persistence of a strategic triangle composed of China, Pakistan, and the United States. Throughout much of the Cold War, China and the United States competed to keep Pakistan within their particular sphere of influence, while Pakistan deftly took advantage of the subtle power struggle to improve its security profile vis-à-vis India. Despite persistent competition, the nations of the strategic triangle enjoyed three major convergence points: (1) the 1969–71 period, when Pakistan acted as a conduit for secret talks between Beijing and Washington, which subsequently led to mutual coordination during the 1971 Indo-Pakistan war; (2) the decade following the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan in 1979; and (3) the years following the 9/11 attacks in the United States, when global focus turned to Afghanistan and terrorism. This third convergence around terrorism is particularly salient, as Pakistan is increasingly viewed globally as both a source of terrorist activity and a victim of terrorist violence. In the long term, the strategic triangle may act as a modulating force that may prevent instability within nuclear-capable Pakistan, as well as constrain activities by certain Pakistani state organs that may be linked to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and clandestine support for militant organizations. Keywords: PakistanChinaUnited Statesstrategic trianglecold warterrorismnuclear proliferation ACKNOWLEDGMENT The author would like to thank Robert Wirsing, Mohan Malik, Tim Hoyt, David Cooper, John Cloud, and several anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments and suggestions. The views expressed in this essay are solely those of the author, and do not necessarily represent the opinions or position of the U.S. Naval War College, the U.S. Department of Defense or the U.S. Government Notes 1. 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