Link to article: https://www.voanews.com/a/two-chinese-nationals-shot-and-injured-in-southern-pakistan-/7851845.html
On November 5th, two Chinese nationals were shot and injured by a Pakistani security guard in Karachi, a city located in southern Pakistan. This incident is one of three attacks that has occurred in Pakistan in the past year, targeting workers originating from China. There have previously been two suicide car bombings, one in the last month and one earlier this year, in March, resulting in 7 dead Chinese workers and engineers along with several wounded. In the most recent incident, two Chinese workers got in a “heated argument”, according to police officials, which prompted the guard to shoot them both, resulting in both being transported to the hospital, with one worker being in critical condition. Beijing has been urging Islamabad to improve security for Chinese nationals which have been increasing tensions between the two countries, but following this attack, the Chinese ambassador openly criticized Pakistan, stating that these attacks are unacceptable. As a result, the Pakistani Foreign Ministry responded, claiming that this type of statement does not align with the diplomatic relationship between the two nations.
This article shares an important event, and series of events, that have been affecting China’s relations with Pakistan. This is especially important because of the fact that it is an ongoing issue, one that Beijing has been attempting to resolve for at least the last year. It is necessary to understand how Beijing and Islamabad have reacted and responded to the incident, since it could have an effect on the diplomatic relationship shared between the two countries. When the Chinese ambassador spoke out against the attacks and criticized Pakistan in a rare occurrence, the Pakistani Foreign Ministry, rather than pledge to help resolve the issue, criticized China for issuing an inappropriate statement.
As stated above, the Pakistani Foreign Ministry chose to address Beijing’s criticism of their response to the attacks instead of actually addressing and working to further prevent the attacks. Because of how rarely Beijing speaks out or criticizes another nation, it shows how important it is to respond to the incidents and ensure that Pakistan will work to prevent it from happening again in the future. Since the Pakistani Foreign Ministry responded in an unexpected manner, it is possible that Beijing will in turn respond to Pakistan, once again urging the government to safeguard against attacks on Chinese workers and nationals. Pakistan could look into better ways of protecting Chinese nationals, but they could just as well choose to ignore Beijing’s criticisms.
These incidents are related to realism and alliances because of the fact that Chinese workers were injured on Pakistani soil. The alliance between China and Pakistan is very strong militarily, and its geopolitical significance primarily counters Indian and American influence, meaning that their alliance plays a key role in the balance of power, which we discussed in class. It is extremely unlikely, but if Beijing continues to feel unsatisfied by its relation with Pakistan, we could see a shift in alliances.