It is true that Balochistan is vulnerable, for several reasons, but do consider that it has a cordon sanitaire to the north, in that it is abutted in Afghanistan by a tribe traditionally sympathetic to the Al Qaeda movement, and therefore a barrier to free access to the Uzbek, Turkmen, Hazara, Tajik parts of Afghanistan.
It is also true that Iran will be a very wilful self-opinionated partner at the best of times; they will do whatever their own geopolitical appreciation tells them they should do, and might be an uncomfortable partner to have.
As for the CAR, they are far more susceptible to Chinese influence, and trying to win their hearts and minds seems pointless. Rather than that, I should like to see more all-weather roads, airports and flights and train services between our north-east and Thailand or Malaysia, maybe even Vietnam. After all, they are far closer to us than some parts of Europe are to each other.
