China to explore trilateral security cooperation with India, Pak

China is reportedly keen to explore a trilateral security cooperation with neighbouring countries India and Pakistan.

According to Dawn.com, journalists representing the Global Times, an affiliate of the ruling Communist Party of China's (CPC) People's Daily publication group, paid a visit to Pakistan and sought views from scholars of Islamabad Institute of Strategic Studies (IISS) on a likely India-China-Pakistan trilateral cooperation.

Interacting with a TV news channel, Najam Rafique, senior IISS research fellow said that so far no formal trilateral meeting has taken place, but the idea sounds excellent, adding that a lot of ground was required to be covered, particularly in terms of India and Pakistan before everything else.

He said that China can play a role in ensuring that both countries are able to disperse the historical barricades and move in terms of ensuring the security which is going to be based on not traditional military security, but economic, social and popular security in the region.

Malik Khokhar, an analyst, said that in order to curb military hostilities among the three neighbouring nations, a joint mechanism has to be set up.

Meanwhile, scholar Ahmed Rashid said China and Pakistan were currently building the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor whereas China was also developing the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar Economic Corridor, the report said.