VZCZCXRO7541
OO RUEHCI
DE RUEHIL #9705/01 1451157
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 251157Z MAY 06
FM AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 9545
INFO RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING IMMEDIATE 4799
RUEHTA/AMEMBASSY ALMATY PRIORITY 9445
RUEHAH/AMEMBASSY ASHGABAT PRIORITY 0603
RUEHEK/AMEMBASSY BISHKEK PRIORITY 3637
RUEHLM/AMEMBASSY COLOMBO PRIORITY 0751
RUEHKA/AMEMBASSY DHAKA PRIORITY 1495
RUEHDBU/AMEMBASSY DUSHANBE PRIORITY
RUEHBUL/AMEMBASSY KABUL PRIORITY 5377
RUEHKT/AMEMBASSY KATHMANDU PRIORITY 6526
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI PRIORITY 8488
RUEHNT/AMEMBASSY TASHKENT PRIORITY 1272
RUEHCI/AMCONSUL CALCUTTA PRIORITY 0797
RUEHCG/AMCONSUL CHENNAI PRIORITY 3135
RUEHKP/AMCONSUL KARACHI PRIORITY 1054
RUEHLH/AMCONSUL LAHORE PRIORITY 8847
RUEHBI/AMCONSUL MUMBAI PRIORITY 3510
RUEHPW/AMCONSUL PESHAWAR PRIORITY 6702

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ISLAMABAD 009705 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/25/2016 
TAGS: CH IN PK PREL

SUBJECT: PAK-SINO RELATIONS: “HIGHER THAN THE HIMALAYAS,  DEEPER THAN THE SEA” 
  ISLAMABAD 00009705  001.2 OF 002 
 
  Classified By: Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker, DSCG 05-01,  January 2005, Edition 1, Reason: 1.4 (B,D) 
 
¶1.  (C) Summary.  At a May 23 conference celebrating 55 years  of Pakistan-China relations, Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat  Aziz characterized the Sino-Pak relationship as a model  bilateral relationship, in which both countries are committed  to peaceful co-existence, sovereign equality, and  non-interference in internal affairs.  He emphasized the deep  trust the two nations have for each other, and mentioned  several areas of potential economic and military cooperation. His remarks on the Indo-U.S. relationship, however, provide  insight into Pakistani insecurities that the U.S. values its  relationship with India more than its GWOT partner, Pakistan.  End summary. 
 
¶2.  (U)  The conference, sponsored by the MFA-funded  Institute of Strategic Studies in Islamabad (ISS), celebrated  55 years of Pakistan-China relations.  The guest of honor, PM  Shaukat Aziz, emphasized Pakistan's deep military and  economic relationship with China and noted that the bilateral  relationship is not based on “transient interests”, but is  “higher than the Himalayas, deeper than the sea.”  He cited  the recent Pakistan-China Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation  and Good Relations as an example of a relationship  characterized by peaceful co-existence, sovereign equality,  and non-interference in internal affairs.  He also noted  China's possible future assistance in space technology, which  would give Pakistan an entry into space programs.  The  February 2005 defense agreement with China will continue, he  said, with the joint production of JF-17 planes and tanks, as  well as research and development programs that will “lay the  groundwork for future cooperation.”  Aziz praised growing  Chinese investment in Pakistan, and thanked China for its  assistance in constructing Gwadar port.  He talked of  upgrading the Karakoram Highway (KKH) to improve Sino-Pak  trade, and without providing any detail, touched upon the  prospect of constructing an oil pipeline from Gwadar to  China.  Notably absent in Aziz's comments was any mention of  benefits from ongoing Sino-Pak free trade negotiations. After applauding China's assistance with the Chashma I and II  nuclear reactors, Aziz emphasized that nuclear technology  should be used for peaceful purposes.  In a quick aside, he  pointed out that a nation has the right to produce nuclear  energy peacefully.  (Note: This comment is a standard GOP  talking point when discussing the current controversy over  Iran's nuclear programs.  End note.) 
 
¶3.  (U)  In response to a journalist's provocative question  on the new “unholy alliance” between the U.S. and India, PM  Aziz emphasized that, “There is nothing evil in that (the  U.S.-India relationship).”  He further qualified his comment  by reminding the audience that China's emergence as a player  on the international arena has deepened the Indo-U.S.  relationship.  He referred to Newton's third law of motion --  every action has an equal and opposite reaction -- and  explained a strong Sino-Pak relationship is a natural  reaction to the Indo-U.S. relationship, and ended by  reminding the audience that, “The best diplomacy is quiet  diplomacy.” 
 
¶4.  (U)  Aziz was then asked what major challenges he  envisioned the Pak-Sino relationship facing in the next five  to ten years.  He responded that the challenge would lay in  “creating new avenues and looking for new opportunities” for  cooperation in the future.  He mused that one-sided  relationships do not last forever and that only a  relationship that is mutually beneficial is sustainable. Pakistan and China must promote security -- not hegemony --  he said, and the two nations must work to strengthen the UN  system in order to resolve conflicts. 
 
¶5.  (C)  Comment:  As the inaugural speaker, PM Aziz spoke,  answered a few questions, and left the conference.  He was not present when the discussion descended into openly  anti-American rhetoric.  Yet his inflated praise of the  Sino-Pak relationship --  characterized as one based on  trust, entrenched regional interests, and an off-limits  attitude toward the other nation's internal affairs --  offered a mirror image of common Pakistani sentiments about  the U.S.-Pakistan relationship.  By emphasizing that the  Pak-Sino relationship is built on a solid foundation, as  opposed to “transient” interests, Aziz  reflected an  undercurrent of Pakistani insecurity that the U.S. is not  fully committed to a long-term strategic  partnership. 
 
¶6.  (C)  Comment (con't): Aziz's comments aside, the  conference should have been billed “Seminar on U.S.-Indian  Perfidy.”  While the Chinese panelists focused on historical  examples of Sino-Pak cooperation (Pakistani facilitation of  Henry Kissinger's 1971 trip to China was one example),  Pakistani speakers stressed the need for a tight Pak-Sino  relationship in light of a stronger U.S.-India relationship. (Note:  Pakistani comments about this “new” U.S.-India  relationship were so vitriolic that members of the audience  repeatedly turned around in their chairs to gauge poloff's  reaction.)  For example, after a dramatic reading of the  India, Pakistan, and China sections from the 2006 U.S.  National Security Strategy, the ISS Chairman argued that the  U.S.-India nuclear deal has effectively co-opted India into  endorsing “the American strategic tenets of preemptive  action, interference in internal affairs, and regime change” -- hardly the basis for a strategic U.S.-Pakistani  partnership.  End comment. 
CROCKER