Doomed to cooperate

Jochen Hippler, a political scientist and research fellow at the Institute for Development and Peace at the University of Duisburg-Essen, thinks political cooperation between Pakistan and China would make political sense in view of the strained relationship between Washington and Islamabad.

Deutsche Welle: Pakistan is thought to have allowed China to inspect the helicopter that US Special Forces had to leave behind after bin Laden was killed. How probable do you think the reports are?

Hippler: It cannot be ruled out but we have to be careful about jumping to conclusions. On the other hand, such cooperation between Pakistan and China would make political sense.

What do you mean exactly?

Well, the situation is that the relationship between Pakistan and the US has always been very problematic. This means that they support each other but they do not trust each other. The Pakistani government hasn’t trusted the Americans since the 60s.

Are you referring to the war between Pakistan and India in the 60s? When Pakistan was not supported by the US?

Exactly. Pakistan turned to the US military and considered the US a very close ally at the time. But Washington did not come to Islamabad’s aid in the war against India. Quite the contrary: The US stopped its arms deliveries to the Pakistani government. Pakistan underwent a similar experience when the Soviet Union withdrew from Afghanistan at the beginning of 1989. The US dropped Afghanistan and Pakistan like hot potatoes. For its part, the US doesn’t think that Pakistan has ever really made a convincing drive against Islamists in the region. So there is great distrust between the two countries. This is why Pakistan has become increasingly close to China.

Because China also sees a big rival in India?

Yes, and also because Islamabad wants to show Washington that Pakistan can survive both economically and militarily without US help - this is not actually true though. In this particular case, there are two reasons why Pakistan might have worked with the Chinese - firstly, to show Beijing that Pakistan is a true ally of China and not a threat. Secondly, to show Washington that Islamabad is not a puppet of the US.

Assuming that Pakistan and China did work together on the helicopter matter, how will relations between Islamabad and Washington change?

I think that their relations could get even worse. There is a lot at stake for the US - they will have lost technical knowledge that they did not want to give away at any price. The technology used in the helicopter that crashed was only known in fighter jets until now. The world did not know that helicopters could also fly without being discovered by the radar. The fact that this is about China - an upcoming super power - makes the whole matter even more dicey. The US will consider giving less aid to Pakistan.

Can Washington even afford to do without Pakistan in the region in the long-term?

As long as the war continues in Afghanistan, as long as there is a particular emphasis on the fight against Islamic extremism, Washington won’t really have an alternative. If you look at the map of Afghanistan, you can see that the country borders former Soviet republics in the north - Tajikistan and Uzbekistan for example, and that Iran is to the west. Countries that are definitely not US allies. What remains is Pakistan. The US has to cooperate with the Pakistani government in the fight against the Taliban and al Qaeda in Aghanistan and Pakistan.

That means that Pakistan and the US are doomed to working together even if they do not trust each other?

Yes. The US is very unpopular in Pakistan. Not so much for cultural reasons. Many people in Pakistan think US foreign policy towards the Islamic world is arrogant and aggressive. Officially, the Pakistani government has to maintain its US-friendly stance because it needs help from the US. Not an easy task.

Interview: Ratbil Shamel / act
Editor: Manasi Gopalakrishnan