NEW DELHI: China-Pakistan axis began way back after the 1962 war when both sides felt that India has to be treated as an opponent, said a former secretary of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

Former MEA Secretary Pinak Ranjan Chakravarty said that Pakistan, in any case, was hostile. He stated that China also became hostile because of the undemarcated border. With Pakistan we all know, its own birth was out of certain hostile conditions that they had created, he said.

“Today, it’s just stronger because of the fact that Pakistan has lost the support of the USA and China has its own strategic couple of imperatives to reach out into the Arabian sea to the Bay of Bengal what we call is Malacca Dilemma as its economy has grown, it has become much more independent. That’s the geopolitical and geo-economics reasons why they have come closer,” he said.

“I think the China- Pakistan access as I call it began way back after the 1962 war when both sides felt that India has to be treated as an enemy. Pakistan in any case was hostile. China also became hostile because the reasons are clear because of the undemarcated border. With Pakistan we all know, its own birth was out of certain hostile conditions that they had created. There have been a series of steps China and Pakistan have taken which have brought them closer. Not today, but over the last 4-5 decades almost,” he added.

Pinak Chakravarty said that India is surrounded by hostile countries, to an extent that the word surrounded is not perhaps the right word. “We certainly have China and Pakistan in the west and the north as hostile, but again the dilemma is that India and China may have problems on the Line of Actual Control but otherwise trades are going on. So, there is no such thing,” he said.

The former MEA secretary said that what is happening of course is a geopolitical game that China and Pakistan are playing. “Mainly China because Pakistan doesn’t have the financial muscle to do that. Pakistan has its Islamic network, the radical Islamic network. These are the tools Pakistan uses whereas China is trying to increase its footprints through financial and other aid to trap diplomacy,” he said.

“Rahul Gandhi has every right to say what he thinks and this is part of democracy. Criticizing the government is pretty much part of democracy. As neutral observers, we have our own views and since we have been diplomats and deal with all these issues, I explained that China and Pakistan access is not new,” he added. (ANI)