UPSC Mains 2014 GS Paper 3 Q20: model answer
China and Pakistan have entered into an agreement for development of an economic corridor. What threat does this pose for India’s security? Critically examine.
What the question wants
Critically examine the security threat that the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor poses to India.
How to structure it
What CPEC is, threats, balance.
- CPEC basics
- Threats: sovereignty, military, strategic, economic
- Counter-view
- India's response
How to think it through
CPEC 2013-15, ~$62 bn, Kashgar to Gwadar, passes through PoK (Gilgit-Baltistan). Threats: sovereignty violation, China's presence in PoK, two-front collusion, Gwadar naval base potential (string of pearls), Chinese troops for security, dual-use infrastructure, legitimising Pakistan's claim, Pakistan's debt making it dependent. Critical: CPEC slowed, attacks on Chinese workers (Baloch), Gwadar underused, debt crisis. India: protest, boycott BRI forums, Chabahar, IMEC, INSTC, border infrastructure.
Model answer
The China–Pakistan Economic Corridor, launched in 2013–15 and valued at about $62 billion, runs from Kashgar in Xinjiang to Gwadar on the Arabian Sea. Its route passes through Gilgit-Baltistan, part of Indian territory under Pakistan's illegal occupation. That single fact shapes India's view of it.
Threats to India
- Sovereignty: building in PoK without India's consent challenges India's legal claim.
- Chinese presence in PoK: engineers, security staff and perhaps troops near the LoC.
- Two-front pressure: closer China–Pakistan military cooperation on India's west and north.
- Gwadar: a possible Chinese naval foothold near the Strait of Hormuz, part of the 'string of pearls'.
- Dual-use roads and airfields that can move troops quickly.
- Strategic legitimacy for Pakistan's position on Kashmir.
- Economic pull on India's neighbours through BRI projects.
A critical view
- CPEC has slowed; many projects are delayed.
- Baloch attacks on Chinese workers and Pakistan's debt crisis limit its value.
- Gwadar port is still underused.
- So the threat is real but slower than first feared.
India's response
- Clear opposition and refusal to join BRI meetings.
- Alternatives: Chabahar port, INSTC and the India–Middle East–Europe Corridor (2023).
- Faster border roads and airfields in Ladakh.
- Stronger naval presence in the western Indian Ocean.
CPEC is less a road for trade than a line drawn through India's claim; India's answer must be both legal and practical.
Draw: A map of CPEC from Kashgar to Gwadar through Gilgit-Baltistan, with Chabahar marked.
Keywords, cases and data to drop in
CPEC, ~$62 bn, Kashgar to Gwadar, Gilgit-Baltistan, PoK, sovereignty, two-front, string of pearls, Strait of Hormuz, dual-use, Baloch attacks, Chabahar, INSTC, IMEC 2023.
Where most answers lose marks
- Not being 'critical'; show that CPEC's weaknesses also shape how big the threat is.
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Question text as printed in the official UPSC Civil Services (Main) question paper. The model answer is original Battle IAS work; use it to learn structure, not to memorise.
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