China, Turkey And Pakistan’s Unholy Nuclear Nexus And Its Global Ramifications

31 Jan 2021

As has been observed by US Office of the Secretary of Defense in its annual report to the Congress, ‘Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China 2020’, “PLA to develop the capability to project power outside China’s borders and immediate periphery to secure the PRC’s growing overseas interests and advance its foreign policy goals.”

NEW DELHI: The existing unholy nexus among China, Turkey and Pakistan in the clandestine nuclear program is posing a serious threat to both regional and global security. What is required is that international institutions like the UN and IAEA take strong punitive measures against Beijing, Ankara and Islamabad for their illegal and clandestine activities in the nuclear weaponisation process.

Along with the Covid-19 crisis which is posing a threat to global security, another issue which is causing equal alarm and concerns in the global community is the nexus between Turkey and Pakistan, two rogue states in the field of nuclear weaponisation process. Along with these two, China and North Korea are also involved in the illicit transfer of nuclear technologies and aiding both Ankara and Islamabad. It may be recalled here that there is a blanket ban on the transfer of technology in the field of nuclear programs at the international level. At the same time, there are also strong punitive measures international nuclear regimes like International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have prescribed for any country which pursues such practices.

It may also be recalled here that role of Turkey (under President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan) and Pakistan in promoting radicalism and providing sanctuary to terrorist groups is a well known fact. Both are indulging in such activities to promote their respective narrower geopolitical goals.

Even China’s role in promoting international terrorism is now surfacing.

So a natural question arises, how far are Turkey-Pakistan-China involved clandestinely in producing nuclear weapons which may pose a threat to global and regional security.

It should also be pointed out that Turkey being an ally of the West and because of its strategic location near to the border of the then Soviet Union, was under the ‘Nuclear Umbrella’ of NATO.

The first deployment of nuclear weapon to deter the Warsaw Pact took place towards the end of 1960s. However, the growing spat between the US and Turkey over NATO’s role, Erdogan’s geopolitical ambitions in the West Asian region, along with its role in aiding and abetting terrorist groups is sending a strong signal to Washington and NATO to take away the ‘nuclear stockpiles’ which are located since the Cold War period at the ‘Incirlik Air Base’ as reported in the New York Times, in a report titled ‘Trump Followed His Gut on Syria. Calamity Came Fast’.

Although what is sending alarm bells ringing for the global community is the desire on part of authoritarian Erdogan to acquire the same by employing dubious means. As reported in Reuters, an article titled ‘Erdogan says it’s unacceptable that Turkey can’t have nuclear weapons’ highlights the nefarious intent of Erdogan who stated “Some countries have missiles with nuclear warheads, not one or two. But (they tell us) we can’t have them. This, I cannot accept.”

Analysts are perceiving Erdogan’s desire to become a new ‘Khalif’ of the Muslim nations is propelling him to acquire nuclear we pons. After moving out of the Western orbit, the Erdogan regime is trying to influence West Asian and Eurasian geopolitics. The Syrian war provided Erdogan with an opportunity to manipulate the geopolitics of the Arab world. The Erdogan regime thinks that nuclear weapons will provide an opportunity for Turkey to assume a preponderant role in the Islamic world. It is in this context that Turkey after becoming a pariah state under Erdogan started aligning with Pakistan, which is known for promoting global terrorism and is involved in clandestinely producing nuclear weapons.

Courtesy: ET