Hitherto, the default position for Asian nations has been to draw closer to China economically, but huddle under the US defence umbrella. Pakistan shows that China’s rise – as a military as well as an economic power – is making that calculation more complex. Within days of Pakistan’s humiliation over the killing of Osama bin Laden, Yusuf Raza Gilani, the prime minister, travelled to Beijing. He came back with a Chinese commitment to take over the operation of Gwadar port, close to the Iranian border. Islamabad has asked Beijing to upgrade the facility to a naval base. The message is clear. If Washington scales back its support for Pakistan, there is more than one game in town.
以往，亞洲國家默認的立場是在經濟上靠攏中國，但在國防方面則蜷縮在美國的保護傘下。而巴基斯坦的做法顯示出，中國作為一個經濟乃至軍事強國的崛起，正使這種盤算變得更為復雜。就在奧薩馬?本?拉登(Osama bin Laden)被擊斃令巴基斯坦蒙羞的幾天之后，該國總理優素福?拉扎?吉拉尼(Yusuf Raza Gillani)前往北京訪問。他帶回了中方的承諾：即中國將接手運營靠近伊朗邊界的瓜達爾港(Gwadar port)。巴基斯坦已請求中國對這座港口進行升級改造，使其成為一個海軍基地。此舉傳遞的信息十分清晰：若美國方面縮減其對巴基斯坦的支持，城里還有別的游戲可玩。