Delhi to be thrown out of TAPI
Pipelines and Delhis negotiation tactics are like oil and water and do not mix.
Bharat faced three colossal foreign policy failures in the past decade which will impact it in the long run.
The first is losing Nepal to China, the second is the colossal influence of Beijing and Islamabad in Lanka, and the third is the ejection of Bharat was any equation in Afghanistan. These failures have left
Bharat chopped off at the knees, and has reduced its stature.
Building a pipeline with or to
Bharat is a nightmare. Pakistan and Iran gave up on the IPI pipeline which has now become the IP pipeline and both countries are looking at making it a IPC pipeline.
A Gas Pipeline Framework Agreement, was signed by Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, and Pakistan on April 25, 2008 in Islamabad with construction to start in 2010 and supply to commence by 2015. The US has wanted to build the pipeline since the nineties. America perceives it in its vital interest to build alternative pipelines for Central Asian gas that will bypass the Russian pipelines network. The TAPI is one such project.
The cursed decision to invite Bharat was mede in 2010 and Bharat joined the project in December 2010.
Delhi has now objected to any Chinese participation in constructing the Asian Development Bank (ADP) funded Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline. About 735-km of the proposed pipeline will pass through Afghanistan and another 800-km through Pakistan. Delhis so called reservations about Chinese participation in the construction could seriously jeopardize
Bharati participation in the project. In fact the consortium may eject Bharat from the end destination and make it a TAPC (Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-China) pipeline. The gas sales agreement was supposed to be signed this April, but because of
Bharati foot-dragging and a laundry list of objections the new agreement may have a different date for the signature ceremony. The ADP, Afghanistan, and Pakistan Turkmenistan want to involve Chinese firms for the obvious reason that China has experience in building such long pipelines in a short time.
After signing the MOUall of a sudden Delhi has woken up to the reality of China. Delhi is obsessed with China and cannot see its role in anything.
President Obamas thoughts about Bharat not withstanding, the world has a very poor opinion of Bharati diplomacy.
◦Delhi is worried about the strategic implications of the move, said senior petroleum ministry officials.
◦It fears that Chinas involvement in the project could lead to it being perceived as an avuncular arbiter of peace between India and Pakistan.
◦It could reinforce the notion which China is keen to create that it is capable of managing the security issues in Afghanistan.
◦It could even be interpreted as a sign of China playing a bigger role in the SAARC region in coming days.
The Bharati objections are inane and do not make sense. Certinaly Bharat does not have the expertise to build such pipelines. Why object to Chinese construction companies when The very same companies are undertaking huge construction projects in Bharat itself. We have opposed the I in in the TAPI. Pakistan, Turkeninstan, Afghanistan and China should ask Bharat to take her objections and shove them in the Asian Ocean. The new pipeline should be TAPC and should be rerouted to China.
After all the world has begun to think of it as the Chinese Subcontinent and Bharati objections will fall on deaf ears. It is not in Pakistans long term interests to have joint programs with Delhi. Pakistan should integrate itself economically with China, Iran, Turkey and the Central Asian states.
Delhi to be thrown out of TAPI|Kashgar Times