China, Pakistan Plan New Regional Bloc To Counter India, Replace SAARC: Report

China and Pakistan are reportedly in advanced talks to create a new regional bloc as a potential replacement for the now-dormant South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), a move largely seen as an attempt to sideline India’s influence in the region.

According to a report in Pakistan’s The Express Tribune, discussions between Beijing and Islamabad are at a mature stage, with both nations convinced that a new organization is needed for regional integration and connectivity. The report suggests that other former SAARC members, including Sri Lanka, the Maldives, and Afghanistan, are also expected to be invited to join this new China-led grouping.

The development follows a trilateral meeting held in Kunming, China, on June 19, which was attended by officials from China, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. This meeting is being viewed as a foundational step towards forming the new bloc.

However, Bangladesh has moved to quell speculation about a new political front. Dhaka’s foreign affairs adviser, M Touhid Hossain, clarified that the Kunming meeting was “at the official level, not at the political level.” He asserted, “We are not forming any alliance,” and emphasized that the discussions were not aimed at targeting any third country.

SAARC, the eight-member regional body, has been inactive since 2014, and its last scheduled summit in Islamabad in 2016 was cancelled after India decided to boycott it following the Pakistan-sponsored Uri terror attack that killed 17 Indian soldiers. Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Bhutan had also pulled out, citing concerns over terrorism.

While India, a founding member and the largest economy in SAARC, had spearheaded numerous initiatives like the SAARC Development Fund and the South Asian University, its efforts were often stymied by Pakistan. Islamabad’s veto of the SAARC Motor Vehicles Agreement in 2014, for instance, led India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Nepal to form a sub-regional pact to push forward with the cross-border vehicle movement plan.

The report in the Pakistani daily stated that India would also be invited to join the new proposed forum, but added that it is “unlikely to respond positively” given its divergent interests and the history of obstructionism it has faced within SAARC.