Expected: Pakistan autonomous region – Bill Dodson

As Pakistan become more isolated from its Western allies after the killing of Osama Bin Laden, the country is looking increasingly for friendship with its eastern neighbor China, writes Bill Dodson on his weblog. Will the Pakistani wake up was part of an Autonomous Region?

Of course, China’s alliance with Pakistan serves to poke a stick in America’s eye. The Americans have seen their credibility with the Pakistanis decrease nearly daily since the assasination of bin Laden. A closer relationship with Pakistan also helps China leverage negotiations with India on issues ranging from trade through territorial disputes.

Still, China may eventually rue the day it built the bed into which it crawled with a fundamentally fundamentalist, corrupt, poverty-stricken and unstable country. China’s prognostications of non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries may undergo a major test when it finds Chinese merchants or engineers or even soldiers under fire from Islamic extremists.

Then, perhaps, China will begin to understand that with wealth and standing in the world comes commensurate responsibility and accountability.

More on Bill Dodson’s weblog

Bill Dodson is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need him at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch.