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Hans India
2 days ago
- Politics
- Hans India
Pak, China to form new bloc to replace SAARC?
Islamabad/Beijing: Pakistan and China are reportedly exploring the possibility of creating a new regional grouping to replace the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), which comprises India, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, according to media reports. The proposed bloc appears to be an attempt by Beijing and Islamabad to carve out an alternative space for influence in the global south, where both nations often feel sidelined. However, India has little reason to worry. In recent years, SAARC has remained largely dysfunctional, primarily due to Pakistan's consistent efforts to use the forum to raise bilateral issues, particularly Kashmir — something India has firmly opposed. This persistent issue led India to shift focus towards more productive and like-minded partnerships such as BIMSTEC, I2U2, and the Quad, which prioritise connectivity, trade, and regional security while excluding Pakistan. Talks are underway between Islamabad and Beijing regarding the formation of a new regional grouping. The talks between China and Pakistan are now at an advanced stage as both sides are convinced that a new organisation is essential for regional integration and connectivity, sources said. A recent trilateral meeting between Pakistan, China and Bangladesh in Kunming, China, was part of those diplomatic manoeuvres, the report stated quoting sources familiar with the matter. The goal was to invite other South Asian countries, which were part of SAARC, to join the new grouping. As per reports, India would be invited to the new proposed forum, while countries like Sri Lanka, Maldives, and Afghanistan are expected to be part of the grouping. The main purpose of the new organisation is to seek greater regional engagement through enhanced trade and connectivity, the newspaper report stated. While reports claimed that the recent Kunming meet was focused on the formation of the new regional bloc, Bangladesh's interim government has dismissed the idea of any emerging alliance between Dhaka, Beijing and Islamabad. Bangaldesh's interim government said that the recent meeting between the representatives of the three coutries was 'not political'. 'We are not forming any alliance,' foreign affairs adviser M Touhid Hossain had said. If the proposal is materialised, it would replace the SAARC, which has been suspended for a long time due to the India-Pakistan conflict. Its biennial summits have not taken place since the last one in Kathmandu in 2014. The 2016 SAARC Summit was to be held in Islamabad. However, after the terrorist attack on an Indian Army camp in Uri in Jammu and Kashmir on September 18 that year, India expressed its inability to participate in the summit due to 'prevailing circumstances'. Soon, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Afghanistan also declined to participate in the Islamabad meet, following which the summit was called off.
India.com
2 days ago
- Business
- India.com
Pakistan, China, Bangladesh Push For New Bloc To Counter India, Replace SAARC
New Delhi: Pakistan and China are reportedly working together to establish a new regional grouping aimed at replacing the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), where India was once a key player. India Today, citing a report from The Express Tribune of Pakistan, stated that discussions between Islamabad and Beijing on forming this new bloc are already at an advanced stage. The report also noted that Bangladesh participated in a recent meeting held in Kunming, China, on June 19 to explore the creation of the proposed group. According to The Express Tribune, the primary goal of the Kunming meeting was to extend invitations to other South Asian nations, many of them former SAARC members, to join this emerging regional platform. The development follows a China-Pakistan-Afghanistan trilateral dialogue held in May, which focused on expanding the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and deepening cooperation with Afghanistan's Taliban-led regime. SAARC, established on December 8, 1985, in Dhaka, had originally included seven countries, with Afghanistan joining in 2007. The bloc has been largely inactive since 2016. While there hasn't been an official SAARC summit since 2014 in Kathmandu, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi did host a virtual SAARC leaders' conference in 2020 to propose a COVID-19 Emergency Fund, pledging $10 million from India. The 19th SAARC summit was scheduled for Islamabad in November 2016, but India withdrew following the Pakistan-sponsored terror attack in Uri that killed 17 Indian soldiers. Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Bhutan also pulled out, citing terrorism and regional instability, leading to the summit's cancellation and an indefinite pause in SAARC activity. The Express Tribune report claimed that both China and Pakistan believe a new regional framework is essential for enhancing integration and connectivity in South Asia. Countries such as Sri Lanka, the Maldives, and Afghanistan are also expected to be included in the proposed bloc. However, Bangladesh has dismissed any notion of a political alliance taking shape. M Touhid Hossain, foreign affairs adviser to the Bangladesh government, clarified that the Kunming meeting was a routine official-level discussion and 'not political in nature.' 'We are not forming any alliance,' Hossain said, adding, 'There was no element of formation of any alliance' during the discussions. According to diplomatic sources cited in the report, India may be extended an invitation to join the new group. However, given New Delhi's strategic differences, its participation is considered unlikely.
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First Post
3 days ago
- Business
- First Post
Saarc defunct, China working with Pakistan to establish new regional bloc to corner India
Both sides are reportedly convinced that a new platform is needed to promote regional integration, connectivity, and trade, amid the continued paralysis of Saarc read more China and Pakistan are in advanced talks to create a new regional grouping aimed at replacing the long-defunct South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc), in what diplomats and analysts see as a strategic effort to reshape South Asia's geopolitical landscape and reduce India's centrality in the region. According to a report in Pakistan's Express Tribune, discussions between Beijing and Islamabad have moved forward significantly in recent months. Both sides are reportedly convinced that a new platform is needed to promote regional integration, connectivity, and trade, amid the continued paralysis of Saarc due to the India-Pakistan conflict. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD What is the proposal? Express Tribune cited sources as saying that the idea is to form an alternative regional organisation by bringing together former Saarc members such as Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Nepal, Bhutan and Afghanistan, but under new leadership, with China playing a key role and India relegated to the periphery. A recent trilateral meeting in Kunming between China, Pakistan and Bangladesh was described as part of the diplomatic groundwork for this initiative. While Bangladesh publicly denied that any alliance was in the making, calling the meeting 'not political', the move has raised eyebrows in New Delhi and other Saarc capitals. 'We are not forming any alliance,' Bangladesh's foreign affairs adviser M Touhid Hossain said following the meeting, though diplomatic sources cited by the newspaper suggested otherwise. The proposed bloc, while still in the planning stages, would focus on improving regional trade corridors, infrastructure connectivity, and economic cooperation — themes that align with China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), in which Pakistan is a key participant through the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Why now? Saarc, founded in 1985, has been effectively dormant since 2014, when the last summit was held in Kathmandu. The 2016 summit, scheduled to be held in Islamabad, was cancelled after India pulled out in response to the terror attack on an army camp in Uri, which it blamed on Pakistan-based militants. Several other members — Bangladesh, Bhutan and Afghanistan — also withdrew support, citing the 'prevailing circumstances,' making it impossible for the summit to proceed. Since then, Saarc's relevance has sharply declined. India has increasingly turned to other platforms like BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation), which excludes Pakistan, to engage with its eastern neighbours. Meanwhile, Pakistan and China have deepened bilateral and multilateral cooperation to counterbalance India's growing clout in Indo-Pacific groupings like the Quad. Will India be invited? According to Express Tribune, India may be formally invited to join the new grouping. However, analysts view this as a diplomatic gesture unlikely to translate into meaningful participation, given the forum's likely alignment with China and Pakistan's strategic priorities. Countries like Sri Lanka, Maldives and Afghanistan are expected to be more amenable to the new bloc, particularly if it offers economic incentives or infrastructure support. While the initiative has yet to be officially announced, Indian officials are likely to view it as a bid to create a China-led counterweight to India's influence in the region– a reversal of Saarc's original vision, where India played a dominant role. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The move adds a new layer of complexity to South Asian geopolitics, coming at a time when India is expanding its strategic partnerships in the Indo-Pacific and pushing back against China's assertiveness on its borders and beyond. With inputs from agencies
NDTV
3 days ago
- Politics
- NDTV
Pakistan, China Working On New Regional Bloc With Potential To Replace SAARC: Report
Islamabad: Pakistan and China are working on a proposal to establish a new regional organisation that could potentially replace the now-defunct South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), according to a media report on Monday. Quoting diplomatic sources familiar with the development, the Express Tribune newspaper reported that talks between Islamabad and Beijing are now at an advanced stage as both sides are convinced that a new organisation is essential for regional integration and connectivity. Citing sources, the paper said that this new organisation could potentially replace the regional bloc SAARC, which comprises India, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. A recent trilateral meeting between Pakistan, China and Bangladesh in Kunming, China, was part of those diplomatic manoeuvres, they said, adding that its goal was to invite other South Asian countries, which were part of SAARC, to join the new grouping. However, Bangladesh's interim government had dismissed the idea of any emerging alliance between Dhaka, Beijing and Islamabad, saying the meeting was not 'political'. 'We are not forming any alliance,' foreign affairs adviser M Touhid Hossain had said. According to sources, India would be invited to the new proposed forum, while countries like Sri Lanka, Maldives, and Afghanistan are expected to be part of the grouping. The main purpose of the new organisation is to seek greater regional engagement through enhanced trade and connectivity, the newspaper said. It added that if the proposal is materialised, it would replace the SAARC, which has been suspended for a long time due to the India-Pakistan conflict. Its biennial summits have not taken place since the last one in Kathmandu in 2014. The 2016 SAARC Summit was to be held in Islamabad. But after the terrorist attack on an Indian Army camp in Uri in Jammu and Kashmir on September 18 that year, India expressed its inability to participate in the summit due to 'prevailing circumstances'. The summit was called off after Bangladesh, Bhutan and Afghanistan also declined to participate in the Islamabad meet.
News18
3 days ago
- Politics
- News18
Pakistan, China In Talks For New Regional Bloc With Potential To Replace SAARC: Report
Last Updated: Pakistan and China are reportedly in advanced talks to form a new regional organisation aimed at boosting connectivity and trade across South Asia. Pakistan is working with China on a proposal to establish a new regional organisation that could potentially replace the now-defunct South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), the Express Tribune newspaper reported. The report quoted diplomatic sources familiar with the development and claimed that talks between Islamabad and Beijing are now at an advanced stage as both sides are convinced that a new organisation is essential for regional integration and connectivity. The paper also cited sources and claimed that the new organisation could potentially replace the regional bloc SAARC, which comprises India, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. A recent trilateral meeting between Pakistan, China and Bangladesh in Kunming, China, was part of those diplomatic manoeuvres, the report claimed, adding that its goal was to invite other South Asian countries, which were part of SAARC, to join the new grouping. However, according to news agency PTI, Bangladesh's interim government had dismissed the idea of any emerging alliance between Dhaka, Beijing and Islamabad, saying the meeting was not 'political". 'We are not forming any alliance," foreign affairs adviser M Touhid Hossain had said. The main purpose of the new organisation is to seek greater regional engagement through enhanced trade and connectivity, the newspaper said. It added that if the proposal is materialised, it would replace the SAARC, which has been suspended for a long time due to the India-Pakistan conflict. The 2016 SAARC Summit was to be held in Islamabad. However, after the terrorist attack on an Indian Army camp in Uri in Jammu and Kashmir on September 18 that year, India expressed its inability to participate in the summit due to 'prevailing circumstances". First Published: June 30, 2025, 12:43 IST
