Abstract

In this paper we examine the security implications for Pakistan after the engagement of two powerful states, China & United States. After the incident of September 11, 2001 (9/11) and their security impacts in the capacity of Pakistan's domestic and peripheral front. Their rivalry in the 21st century at the geostrategic, geopolitical and geo-economic level have been explained on the basis of realism, neo-realism and complex interdependence philosophies of international relations. The drastic political and strategic change in the status of Kashmir propelled Pakistan and China to review their foreign policies in future. In response, China wants Pakistan a strategic partner to closely look onto Afghanistan's political crisis during and after the withdrawal of the US from Afghanistan. However, the strategic relationship nuclear partnership between America and India has allowed the Sino-Pak strategic and nuclear partnership to level the magnitude of the United States' influence in South Asia. The issue of cross border terrorism, infiltration from Afghanistan and Indian espionage policy further sabotaged peace and security calculus in Pakistan's internal and external levels. India-Afghanistan Strategic Partnership has further deteriorated Pakistan's relations with Afghanistan..

Key Words

Sino-US Relation, Pakistan between Sino-US Security Implication, Trade War, Pax-Americana, Pax-Sinica

Introduction

China and the United States bilateral relation is the most important relationship of the 21st century in the world. The relation is not only among the two strongest economies but the most powerful states of the global comity. Their bilateralism over the history has experienced a number of political and trade dissimilarities serves crisis in term of international crisis, conflict and resolution. They are connected in several different ways but at the same time, possess diverse, distrust and suspicions. Their contemporary political and trade engagement changing the very shape of the global political and economic trajectory. Any conflict and resolution within the Sino-US bilateralism put the global community either in rivalry or socio-economic heydays. Any confrontation between China and the US would, however, leave the world wreck as the US attempts to curb China's influence in the region (Woon, 2021).Both states are in the way to survive with dignity in term of security, economy and international status. The ultimate ends of the states have to make the most of their share of world power to control the global political system. For a strong position to dominate with it requires firstly that there is no other authority over the state to dominate and secondly that all great powers have some belligerent and well-trained military, and thirdly that no state can understand the intentions of another state. In this case, the nature of Sino-US bilateralism focused on maintaining their own hegemony (Mearsheimer, 2006). The United States and China's twenty-first century relation between the refluxing the very identical motion of ascending and descending existed during the cold war. But the geostrategic and geo-economic policies of both the states are quite perplexing because they result from related state policies, political mentalities and private lobby politics. In the third millennium of the present time, China, after Japan is the second financial banker of the US monetary system. This financial and monetary dependency of the US on China is asymmetrically by commercial one. The trade volume of the US from China is growing subsequently to the strengthening process of the Chinese industries and the weakening process of the US. On the basis of this simple assessment, it is clear that the world's geopolitical system, still dominated by the US, revolves around the growing interdependence of China and the US. Chinese policies to implement its geostrategic action are different from the US because the United States seems to choose military action (Like in Iraq and Afghanistan) while China works more in a commercial way and energy related framework. The political, military and trade competition between Sino-US not only affected regional organizations but also push regional powers into a security imbroglio (Massimo Fabio, 2007). China and the US have undergone immense ups and down in their past, but their recent relationship reached many junctures from trade to politics & military and from geostrategic to global competitive dynamics. (A. Cooley & D. Nexon 2020)The US earlier adopted an engagement strategy to contain the rise of China, but currently, the US revisited its strategy and gave way to punitive measures and escalatory policies in order to undermine the Chinese rival and try to tame them (Hussein et al. 2020). China and the US are in escalation and issuing exciting conflict both of them, in light of China's main ambition to convert to a superpower. China in the 21st century have already initiated economic and military modernization program to easily dominate and control the pacific region and to achieve the dream of global superiority in the long term.  Not only this, the growing Sino-Russian strategic convergence apprehended US policymakers in Washington DC. Sino-Russian Strategic partnerships have been established, which include strengthening security, and strategic and military cooperation, by signing important documents, such as: the declaration on the advancement of international law; the joint statement to promote global strategic stability; the joint statement on the development of information and cyberspace, with the need to encourage the establishment of an International multi-polar system, for global strategic stability (Al-Asfour, 2012). The characteristics of this world are the deepening of regionalization and the modernity of multiple coexistence and possible competition. In their view, the multi-polar world will reshape the global political and security system more tilted toward Beijing than Washington because China's influence is more than the US in Europe, Asia and even Latin America (Acharya, 2017). US hegemony and influence in Asia is a major concern for China. China is concerned that the United States is trying to establish a containment system to check its ability to manage its strategic neighbors, especially India and Pakistan, the two nuclear powers. Writing in 2005, one of China's leading political analysts, Wang Jisi, said there was a 'fundamental contradiction' between the rise of China and America's hegemonic emplacement in the Asia–Pacific region: the US wants influential ties with all neighbors of China to get a strategic trump card over China. Their mutual competition has created security challenges for Pakistan (Kerr, 2010). Despite its historically long conflictive relation with Pakistan, India is the key competitor of China in the 21st century, in part due to Beijing's historic role as the main international collaborator and supporter of Pakistan's, and more recent comeback to China's growing hegemony and influence in the Indian Oceanic region. India's disposition toward Beijing has direct linkages to the terrorist violence in the Pulwama attack, Indian occupied Kashmir: China, since 2016, has all alone blocked the United Nation Security Council effort to label Masood Azhar, founder of Jesh-e-Muhammad in 2000, as a Global Terrorist under United Nation Security Council resolution (U. Friedman 2019). The contemporary predicament puts to the test Beijing's disposition to give safeguard to Pakistan as her close ally from international criticism. United State factor is different viz-a-viz relation to Indian and Pakistan. United States' longstanding policy in South Asia has been to avert possible Indo-Pak combat from surging into interstate war. For years, this means that the U.S. avoids actions that are clearly beneficial to either party. However, in the last few years, the relationship between the United States and India has become closer, while the relationship with Pakistan continues to be seen as worrying because of deep suspicion. (BBC News, May 3, 2021)Washington in President Trump's tenure, "postponed" security support to Pakistan substantially reduced its non-military aid to Pakistan at the end of 2017 while at the same time extending defence dealings with New Delhi. However, every American compulsion to "incline" towards India is largely counterpoised by Islamabad. China favored Pakistan's role in the fight against militancy and terrorism and by most accounts, facilitated Afghan reconciliation in negotiations. The present political development in Afghanistan, the United States' abrupt withdrawal from Afghanistan and Taliban reemergence in Afghanistan further infuriated competition between the United States and China in South Asia which has ultimately the anxious balance of power in Indo-Pakistan security structure. 

Research Gap

After the 9/11 attacks, the US foreign policy has undergone a paradigm shift, mainly focusing on the "war on terrorism" in Afghanistan &Iraq, and numerous interventions based on violations of human rights in Libya, Syria, and Yemen (Roy, D. 2013). China wants profound strategic and economic influence in the region after 9/11 to maintain its supremacy. It "wants a sharp diminution" of US influence in Southeast Asia, "especially in terms of its military deployments to the region and its encircling. Chain of bilateral security arrangements with many of China's neighbors (Banlaoi, 2003). Keeping Pakistan's important geostrategic and geo-economics location into consideration, China is investing billions of dollars to ensure its hegemony in the Arabian and South China Sea, but without the Gawader port in Pakistan, china would not get soft access to the Arabian Sea. China, at any cost wants to hold its deeper influence in South Asia and the Arabian Sea to overlook the global transportation of petroleum and other energy-related commodities. But without the cooperation of Pakistan, China can not materialize its dream (Sutter, R. G. 2013).




Significance of the Study

This study will form an understanding of how the United States and China are competing each other in terms of military, economy and politics. Sino-US multifaceted relation in post September 11, 2001, is converged and diverged on a global and regional level. 

Literature Review

The literature to be categorized into three main statements. In category first, the literature deals with Sino-US relations in a historical context. Category second deals with post-September 11, 2001, Sino-US relations. Thirdly, how the changing dynamics in Sino-US have affected the security paradigm since 9/11. In the first category, history is witnessed that Sino-US bilateral relations have gone through a variety of fluctuations, misunderstandings and finally, rapprochement from eighteen century till 9/11. In this regard, different authors have profoundly been reviewed the Sino-US relation from the 18th century till 9/11. (Simoni, S.2013). 

Authors such as Warren I. Cohen’s American response to China19, Henry Kissinger’s On China 20, John King Fairbank and Merle Goldman’s China: A New History second enlarged edition offered an interesting overview of the Sino-US relationship in the past. The most interesting work on the 21st-century Sino-US rivalry Allison, Graham, 2017, Destined for War: Can America and China escape Thucydides’ Trap. He intimated the global village that the growing rivalry between China and the US is a harbinger and will ultimately cause direct confrontation. The war between China and the US is inevitable on several grounds, which will create a security and humanitarian crisis on this planet.

Similarly, China through the Ages: History of a Civilization by Franz Michael, the Rhetoric of Empire: America-China Policy, 1895-1901, by Marilyn B. Young, has presented a very interesting account on Sino-US relations. The second type of literature is related to authors such as Robert G. Sutter's US-Chinese Relations: Perilous Past, Pragmatic. Scholars have been divergent views on china's ascendency to the global front that. They argue that China may or may not become a security threat to the USA. The optimist opined that conflict is no inevitable between China and the USA while the pessimist holds the opposite philosophy and focused that china will ultimately cause conflict in Sino-US relations. Many scholars have mixed perceptions and anticipate negative and positive implications of china's rise to power. Scholars have stressed on the reciprocal relation between china and the USA to share their mutual interests to thwart any social and political standoff in future. In this way Baogang Guo & SujianGuo have argued that the global geopolitical and geostrategic setup will likely be reconstructed on the basis of close interaction between Pax-Americana and Pax-Cinica.

Samuel Paul Huntington in his famous book, The clash of civilization and the remaking of world order, says that china is historically conceived itself as encompassing a "Sinic-Zone". China's influence within its surrounding states is controlled by China for security reasons. 

The second driving force is power transition theory (PTT) which defines the rise of China as the sole competitor to challenge the US. (Adler, R. 2009).

On the regional security structure and challenges of Pakistan R. Muhammad Khan has highlighted along with Aparna Pande in his discourse Afghanistan and Pakistan: Conflict, Extremism and Resistance to Modernity. In his famous book, 'American Global Strategy and the War on Terrorism'Haal Gardner explicitly narrated the nature of China and the USA competition and its global consequences. Wung Yusheng's 'Some of the post-9/11 observations, the United States and the international situation provide a regional scientific perspective on Pakistan's regional security vis. a vis. Afghanistan and India. (Agarwal, R., & Pradhan, P. K. 2014).

Kal He, in his article (explaining the United States-China relation; neoclassical realism and the nexus of threat-interested perception, 2016) provides a brief account on the rise of china and Sino-US relation with context to South Asian politics. He argues that neoclassical realism fits with the Chinese foreign policy agenda (He, 2017). Xi Jinping thought china's guiding principles has led to china to dominating position not only to overlook the Asian pacific region and reshape the global world order but to off-set the US dominance within the international system (Eckholm, E. 2001)). In the twenty first century china and president XI is looking more authoritarian and aggressive to deal with its socio-political business in South Asia. The US in response is claimed to have the regional hegemony. United States support India in south Asia and South Korea are viewed by China as its main adversaries due to their historical relationship (Wang, J. 2019)..

President Xi announced in 2014 that China would use its economic potential of the last three decades to create a close south Asian regional economic and security architecture. (Larson 2015). Professor Gouman in his research analysis "understanding westward policy of china and eastward policy of china" highlighted that the strategic influence of China and the US has undermined south Asian security paradigm, especially with regard to Pakistan and India. China and India seek to extend their diplomatic ties with regional stats. India's dominating position in south Asia plays a very important role in security-related context. 

Antra Ghosal Singh and Gurpeet S. Khurana explicitly stated in their research article, India and China; constructing a peaceful order in the indo-pacific 2016, China wants cordial relation between India and Pakistan to smoothly implement BRI and China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) china perceived Pakistan as leverage country in South Asia. 

Through research examination, Gurpeet Khurana in his commentary (China's ‘String of Pearls’ in the Indian Ocean and Its Security Implications) debates that china's military strategic moves in south Asia will affect Pakistan's security calculus. China's naval presence in warm water has overlapped Pakistan security institutions. The United States is reluctant to for bear China's naval joint exercises with Pakistan. Similar stand-off like that of October 2006, when Chinese song-class submarine and the US killing-Hawk, caused profound disagreement between two major naval power competing each other to get geostrategic influence in south Asia will put

Pakistan security at stake (Khurana, 2008).

Aparna Pande, Abhijit Singh, Samir Saran, Jeff M. Smith, Walter Lohman and Sunjoy Joshithoroughly discussed in their research analysis“The New India-US Partnership in the Indo-Pacific: Peace, Prosperity and Security” that after 9/11 the US intervention in Iraq and Afghanistan put south Asia in security protection dilemma. 

Rajeev Agarwal and Prasanta Kumar Pradhanin their article (US Pivot to the Asia-Pacific: Impact and Implications for West Asia) narrated that west Asia,due to its geostrategic position, is very important to both China and the United States. Both China and the United States have been trying to gain maximum potential in south Asia. 

Professor Walterson Anderson wrote in his brief research exploration thesis “India and Pakistan challenge American diplomacy” that after the 9/11 terrorist attack the united states not only built strategic relation with India to pursue its core geostrategic objectives in south Asia but also pushed Pakistan into a long-standing quagmire. 

Zain Rafique and Muhammad Azhar Anwarin their research base analysis “Insurgency in Afghanistan: implications for Pakistan internal and external security” argued that after September 11 incident, the Sino-US changing dynamic provoke war in Afghanistan. China had three main pivotal interests in Afghanistan i.e. 

Tauraj Shiralilous in his research thesis “United States foreign policy on Pakistan: South Asian OR Middle eastern?”analyzed that Pakistan is looking more tilted toward China than the United States in order to gain military, monetary and technological support 

In 2006 American renowned political philosopher John. J. Mearsheimer answered to the question that can China rise peacefully? He replied that after American engagement in the war against terrorism (WAT) in Afghanistan, its policy against weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and the impressive economic and military growth of China were the key reason that brought both the USA and PRC toward intense security competition and global war. The post 9/11 period and the United States war against terrorism led political and security instability in South Asia. United States presence in Afghanistan put the US and China at the loggerhead.

Rachel in his research article says that after 9/11 incident caused a major shift in the Sino-US bilateral relationship. Despite major changes in the US foreign policy shifting toward China, though, bureaucratic policy maker's interest and opinion did not change.In 2003 when Chinese foreign policy got relaxed to counter the menace of terrorism, they (Sino-US) established cooperation to facilitate one another to move to a market-based exchange rate regime in China. Chinese philosophy of 21st century competition with external powers is quite different. They believed that the Thucydides’ trap is an intellectual trap for the unwary when uncritically applied to China. They called their growing position not raising to power but returning to power. 

Political expert from the Chinese academy of social science, Zhang Yebai, argued that everything the war on terrorism did was to "postpone" the eastward shift of the Bush administration's explicit security strategy against China. (Yadav, D. 2016)

Since 2017, 2000 military personnel including army and Special Forces to provide full proof security to OBOR of Xi Jinping. (Cabestan Pierre, 2020). China's ambition to establish military and strategic basis indicates its growing position and competition not only with the US but also with the western dominated order (Wang, 2018). China's interest to establish a military base in Djibouti was aimed to protect the UN peacekeeping troops and to eradicate the incidents of piracy. Beijing's diplomatic and strategic interest in the horn of Africa is to protect its security interest in Africa, the Middle East and the Indian Ocean. The tragic incident of 9/11 had deep strategic and security impacts on Sino-US foreign policies viz-a-viz Pakistan civilian and military machinery. Prior to this incident, the foreign policies of both major economies headed toward a negative direction. Even in the presidential electoral campaign the republican manifesto used to demagogue against pax-sinica and referred to PRC as "Strategic competitor" (Hsiung. J, 2004).When Pakistan joined hand with the US after 9/11 to invade Afghanistan to fight against Al-Qaeda, China immediately offered not only condolence to the US government but also expressed willingness to share intelligence support to Washington to jointly eradicate the menace of terrorism from central and south Asia 

Research Methodology

For data collection, research articles, papers national and international journals, newspapers and magazines are studied, and an analytical assessment has derived to understand the main objective of the research figuratively. The research has been brought off by using historical, descriptive and investigative approaches to proceed and draw the final conclusion. For this purpose qualitative methodology has been used to accomplish. Resources of different nature like examination of available works in literature, consulted both primary and secondary sources to get the broader perspective to the cause of the security challenges for Pakistan during the changing dynamics after the incident of 9/11 period between China and the United States of America. Key and basic data have been collected through studying books, covenants & agreements and official documents. Semi-structured personal interviews are incorporated to make the research more empirical and informative. Historical perspective of Pak-US civil and military relationship form a substantial part of the study, since critical interpretation is possible if it is buttressed by historical evidence and assessments. Various periods of time along with fluctuations are selected for the study because Sino-US changing dynamics and its security implications on Pakistan cannot easily be justified unless Pakistan and the United States relation is not appropriately considerate. For this purpose a historical review of Pakistan and the United States bilateral military and civil relation are taken from various sources. Different websites, parliamentary debates, congressional reports, ministry of foreign affairs of various countries, annual financial reports by global organizations like the United Nations (UNO), International monetary fund (IMF) and world trade organization (WTO) are also taken into account to understand the actual cause of conflict between china and the united states of America. Similarly global alliances under the umbrella of the United States and their responsive strategies to cope with the rise of China are also discussed thoroughly to understand the fault line between China and the United States changing dynamics and its security implications for South Asia in general and Pakistan in particular. Methodology of the study is carried out based on both primary and secondary sources. The relevant data was collected through different techniques, which include historical retrospect and analytical methods. It was intended to hold interviews as the primary source of this research but due to COVID-19 pandemic with some national restrictions, it was convoluted to conduct interviews. As secondary sources, different relevant literature, books, magazines, journals, newspapers and online sources were utilized to collect data and correct materials to undertake this research work to attain the actual goal of the study.   

Research Findings

The emergence of China as the only competitor of the United States and its economic development are transforming it into a powerful political and military force. The possibility that the United States and China find themselves in a state of war seems unlikely and unwise. Graham Allison in his book “Destined for war; can America and China escape Thucydides’ trap?” argues that China and the United States are the 21st century major adversaries. If the competition remains the same between them, then war is inevitable. 

From the analysis, it is clear that China and the United States global competitive dynamics at the strategic, economic and political level had deeply implicated Pakistan's internal and external security system. Their mutual policies after 9/11 incident tried to thwart the influence of one another in South Asia created security obstructions for Pakistan. On geostrategic level, the global war on terrorism increased the influence of the United States in South Asia. This kind of the United States approach apprehended China which led the latter to respond reciprocally in South Asia. Their mutual competition after 9/11 worsened Pakistan’s socio-political cohesion and at the same time intensified political violence in the state.

Both states tried to assist the military establishment of Pakistan through aids and military equipment, military to military contacts exaggerated the civil-military relationship which ultimately hampered the growth and proper nourishment of democracy in Pakistan. At the economic level, China and the United States hampered Pakistan role to get maximum benefit from regional programs of explorations and reformation like TAPI and IPI which are the ultimate goals of Pakistan foreign policy in long term. United States and China mutual competition has profound influence on Pakistan's domestic and regional economic projects.

The Indo-US security nexus on the other hand became the catalyst for China-Pakistan military and strategic partnership. Following Pakistan's relationship with China, Pakistan's bilateral relationship with Washington deteriorated.

The United States and Pakistan's interests in post 9/11 time deviated on Pakistan's alleged support for Kashmiri militants, the India and United States' strategic and nuclear partnership and US aspiration to give India an excessive role in Afghanistan further exhausted Pakistan's security calculus in the region. The United States despite Pakistan profound role in war against terrorism did not play any role in the resolution of Kashmir issue. The Kashmir issue after the Indian abrogation of Kashmir's special status witnessed no proper attention of China and the United States. Although both China and USA want to promote peace, domestic values and social tolerance in Pakistan. Yet their policies essentially increased terrorism, belligerence and proxy involvement in Pakistan.

It is found that China and the United States changing dynamics heightened Indo-Pakistan rivalry in true sense. It seems to be going on instead of stopping in the Sino-US security objectives in south Asia. After a deep analysis of their mutual policies on external fronting post September eleven incidents showed a clear tendency toward India with straight consequences for the security calculus of Pakistan on internal and external level. 

The Indo-Pakistan rivalry is one of the most important and inescapable reality of power equation in South Asia. Indo-Pakistan strategic and diplomatic escalation put some limitation on US-China policy and their strategic diplomacy in South Asia. The Indian growing position in South Asia and Indo-US nuclear deals and military joint assistance after 9/11 exacerbate Pakistan's insecurity in the region. The deterioration in Pakistan-US relations allowed the United States to lean on India. 

It is also found that Pakistan under compulsion deeply relied either upon the United States or China against the growing position of India in the region. On the foreign policy front, Pakistan want to minimize the role of India in Afghanistan and Kashmir. The dissertation also found that China and the United States competition and their divergent interests in Afghanistan affected Pakistan’s political, economic and strategic interests in Afghanistan and profoundly affected Pakistan security calculus on internal and external front.

• The changing competitive dynamics between China and the United States have profound social, political, strategic and security related implications on Pakistan. Pakistan's engagement with the US in 20 year long war in Afghanistan caused an internal sectarian crisis in Pakistan. Infuriated Afghani militants infiltrated into Pakistan and challenge the security measurement in Pakistan. The withdrawal of United States and NATO forces from Afghanistan reproduced chaotic and bellicose Taliban regime which will directly affect the security and economy of Pakistan.

• Sino-Pakistan all-weather friendship is not acceptable to the United States and regional states. China's CPEC project in Pakistan saddened both India and the US as both considered the project against regional balance of power and security calculus. China access to warn water through CPEC disappointed gulf countries as China will oversee the transportation of petroleum through the strait of Harmuz. India in response extended its cordial relation and using diplomatic maneuvers against Pakistan on international level to isolate Pakistan by all mean. The revocation of article 370 and 35A through which the special status of Kashmir abrogated has been huge security implications on Pakistan. The Indian stance in Kashmir has got enormous sustenance from international comity which is alarming for Pakistan.

• China's flagship project in Pakistan not only twisted anti-Pakistan sentiment in India but also undermine domestic economic and social sector of Pakistan. Chinese commodities will deeply affect Pakistan's domestic capital and cottage industries. The United States have already been warned the world of the consequences of China's belt and road initiatives. Pakistan should keenly and minutely overlook Chinese intention on the sake of CPEC.

• United States backed Indian lobbying in financial action task force (FATF) sustains Pakistan in grey list and declared Pakistan’s economy unsafe. FATF warned Pakistan to stop money laundering and terror financing created mammoth social and security problems for Pakistan. China’s support for Pakistan is doubtlessly exemplary but Pakistan needs to review its diplomacy and foreign policy to China and the United States for a better global political business. Pakistan to remain non-align at greater extent to survive in a better way between China and the USA.

• Existing between China and US competition, Pakistan lost billions dollar and thousands of civilians and security men after September 11 incident. Despite all these facts, Pakistan got nothing than embarrassment from the west and United States. United States on the other side choose India its strategic partner merely to challenge the rising China and question Pakistan security. United States nuclear assistance and arm deal to India not only apprehended Pakistan security calculus but also infuriated China to strive for hegemony in South Asia.

• The resumption of Taliban regime in Afghanistan can be seen harbinger for the security apparatus of Pakistan. China want a pro-China regime of Taliban in Kabul to get a strategic debt in central Asia to empower the sense of pax-Sinica. The future of Afghanistan will no doubt make Pakistan to revise its Af-Pak foreign policy to avoid the 90s Afghanistan. The Sino-US game for global hegemony in central Asia is almost over, now it is China to deal and supervise the political paradigm of South and Central Asia. The Taliban regime in Kabul after the US left is a litmus test for Pakistan and its law enforcement agencies. Pakistan should realize on the Taliban in Afghanistan that afghan's soil must not be used against any other states. The changing dynamics for global hegemony is not over rater intensified after US withdrawal from Afghanistan. Pakistan to remain neutral between China and the USA in the post-withdrawal Afghanistan.

Conclusion

Beside dialogues for global peace and internationalism crisis, the Sino-US regional security mechanism includes the Shangri-La Dialogue to build conviction to redress common security concerns on the basis of humanitarian assistance, relief during disaster and co-ordination regarding anti-piracy rules. The United States and China on the political level have conserved the exchange of high profile official's visits' on state level with the aim to overcome their variances. Their linkages on regional and global levels enable the United States and China to resolve common global security concern. While on an economic level, China and the United States relations reflect vulnerability on both sides on trade and Chinese influence of currency exchange rates has increased the stakes for mutual cooperation. On global security issues, the broad interests of maintaining international stability tend to be consistent, while there are differences on the tactical aspects of environmental issues, human rights, and cyber security issues.

After 2010, with the intensification of territorial disputes in the South China Sea, the United States became suspicious of the modernization of the Chinese navy, the integrated maritime and air defense system, the building of regional sea-rejection and control capabilities, and the construction of artificial islands. The absolute superiority of China's power will prove to be a catalyst for regional transformation, and its influence will extend to South Asia. The Sino-US competition has had a strong impact on the maritime and continental security of South Asia in the post-9/11 era. The Sino-U.S. competitive intervention after 9/11 is based on expediency, opportunism and short-term interests in the South Asian security dynamics. 

Global competition and rivalry at the strategic, political& economic and trade level between China and the United States after 9/11 have had implications for the domestic security structure of Pakistan and regional security environment. The policies of both China and the United States within this context in post 9/11 tried to stop or diminish the growth of influence of sole competitors in the region, which had implications for the internal and external security measurements of Pakistan. On the strategic front, the global war on terror (GWOT) increased the power of the United States in the South Asian region infused new momentum in Chinese policies to get more influence in the region. The strategic, political and economic antagonism between Sino-US bilateral behaviors after 9/11 has weakened Pakistan's socio-political coherence and at the same time angered the country's political violence. On the political front, their mutual policies after 9/11 seemed untrustworthy in the perspective of disagreement in the domestic socio-political environment of Pakistan. 

In Pakistan, democratic political system was restored after Gen. Musharraf ousted from politics in 2008. The military contacts, assistance and defense equipment were, however, exaggerated the civil-military differences which hindered the nourishment of democracy true in true sense in Pakistan. The competition between the United States and China on economic front further curtailed the influence one another whichhinderedthe capability of Pakistan to get its energy requirements from regional projects such as Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) gas pipeline project and Turkmenistan–Afghanistan–Pakistan–India (TAPI) largely constructed on regional economic partnership. On the other front, Chinese ambitions to invest billions of dollars in the construction of development projects, investment in the power sector and the reservation of minerals triggered security implications for the socio-political consistency of Pakistan and geographical integrity after 9/11.

The India-U.S. defense and security partnership has become a catalyst for China-Pakistan security cooperation, giving Pakistan a very important position in China's grand strategy in the post-9/11 period. With the establishment of a strategic partnership between Pakistan and China, the relationship between Pakistan and the United States began to depreciate. In the past, the relationship between Pakistan and Beijing originated from the prediction of former US President John Fitzgerald Kennedy when called "Pakistan-China entanglement" during the proxy war in Central Asia. The alliance of Pakistan with China after September 11 overthrew the early role of Pakistan as the U.S non-NATO ally. Obstacles to communism and the defender of Western oil interests—the "well of power" in the Middle East. This research also finds that the competition between China and the United States after 9/11 has intensified the competition between Pakistan and its archrival India. Apparently, there may appear continuity rather than discontinuity in security objectives of both the US and China in South Asia. However, a philosophical analysis of the foreign policies of China and the United States after 9/11 reveals a clear tilt towards India, which has a direct impact on Pakistan's security structure. 

Strategic competition between China and the United States after 9/11 weakened Pakistan’s ties with India. The conflict between Pakistan and India is one of the most obvious inevitable facts of power equality in South Asia. Although, given their traditional animosity, the Pak-India equation limited the powers of China and American policy as India still wields considerable influence in the strategic intentions of America and China in the wider Asian interests. Very little for China, whose disputes on territorial grounds and unsettled border demarcation have linked it more to Pakistan to getits strategic benefits, the United States has been wary of India's multilateralism in South Asia.Sino-US Geo-Strategic Competition after 9/11 in South Asia and the raising of India as Power in the region increased Pakistan's security and political trouble. The deterioration in Pakistan-America relations has made the former lean towards India.

Together with India, the Sino-US competition after 9/11 puts the security equation between Afghanistan and Pakistan in a win-lose situation across the Durand line. The Indian-U.S. partnership in Afghanistan puts Pakistan's security at risk because it needs to play a role on the front line to weaken India's hegemony in Afghanistan. The involvement of Pakistan in Afghanistan as a proxy state devalued the relation of Pakistan with its neighbor across Duran Line, Afghanistan, claimed to revive the status of shares border [Durand line] which frustrated the prospects for regional cooperation in energy imports and commerce in the region. Afghanistan, laying on the edge between two powers, China's grand strategy for global hegemony and the U.S.'s political and geostrategic interests in the region have increased Afghanistan as the biggest threat to Pakistan's security calculus. The China-US projection of proxy partners has affected the prospects for peace and stability in Afghanistan. The policy of convergence between the United States and China's shared gains and interests in Afghanistan's mineral wealth and energy resources always remained a promise which sabotaged peace and regional stability. Their mutual competitive dynamics balancing strengthened regional polarization pushed Pakistan's to an insecure socio-political environment. Although America and China sought to promote internal stability in the political structure of Pakistan, yet the policies of both powers are practically amplified the magnitude of immoderation and belligerency in Pakistan through their proxy involvement. Economically, China's and the US's willingness to limit mutual impacts has hampered Pakistan's willingness to import energy resources from Central Asia via Afghanistan through regional economic cooperation projects such as IPI and TAPI in Asia. Faced with this dilemma, the United States and China supported Pakistan's stability for a variety of reasons. As the United States last security personnel left Afghanistan, Taliban again took over to form Islamic system under sharia role reproduced immense security crisis for Pakistan in long run.

Whether it is the pre-emptive policy of US president J. Bush, "Pivot Asia" of Barak Obama and the grand strategy "America First" of Donald Trump are well-defined their fight for maintaining a strong position in the global politics. Since the incident of 9/11, the United States sustainability for hegemonic position revolved from two main objectives

i. To control the world trade

ii. Check the rise of continental power, China

Graham Allison in his illustrious manuscript Destined for War: Can America and China Escape Thucydides’ narrated the nature of conflict between the United States and China through the philosophy of Thucydides trap. He argues that a war between the two elephants, [US and China] is inevitable because both states ultimately want hegemony and global supremacy. War between them will not only sabotage the global economy but also cause security imbroglio in Asia. As Pakistan share its neighborhood with China which is already under infrastructural reform from Xingjian province of China to the Arabian Sea under China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) remain under US and Indian condemnation on certain grounds. Similarly United States support toward India in term of military and nuclear program are mainly to check the rise of China and counter Pakistan security setup. 

The recent development in G-7 member meeting, the member states approved “Belt back better world” to counter China's strategic influence by providing an alternative to the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). G-7 member states will provide around USD 40 trillion to developing countries by 2035 under this plan (Reuters 13 June, 2021). The changing dynamics of global competition between the United States and China after 9/11 infused both the US and China to form alliance, signed military and trade agreements, exchange military expertise and nuclear program in south Asia put on risk the security program of Pakistan. In the war on terrorism, Pakistan remained a close ally of the United States after 9/11 but simultaneously established cordial relation with China to promote joint communiqué viz-a-viz military and security improvement in south Asia. In a nutshell, in terms of security paradigm, Pakistan undertook security challenges amidst competitive dynamics between China and the United States after 9/11.  

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