If closely assayed, the port at Gwadar, Pakistan—touted as part of China’s string of maritime gems—loses its luster, looking more like a counterfeit than the real thing.
China’s investment in the construction of the Port of Gwadar in western Pakistan has fueled speculation for nearly a decade that the Pakistani port is a keystone of China’s political, economic, and military ambitions in the Indian Ocean—similar to Singapore’s position in Southeast Asia at the height of the British Empire. 1 Coupled with investment in Gwadar is the possible construction of a 1,500-mile oil pipeline running from the port to western China, which ostensibly would reduce China’s dependency on vulnerable oil imports transported through the Strait of Malacca.
