But this hugely important Chinese-financed project could be of great benefit to Pakistan's security. Pakistan knows that providing comprehensive protection to this project and those working on it is essential, especially since the proposed logistical link passes close to some of the most dangerous areas in the country. Its westernmost stage travels through the province of Balochistan, which has a serious problem with violent separatism.

On April 19, President Xi said "China and Pakistan need to align security concerns more closely to strengthen security cooperation." If Pakistan is able to secure this corridor successfully with Chinese help, it can only have a positive effect on the security problems in the remainder of the country by supplying opportunities to practice improved cooperation among various security agencies and to spread "best practice." It will be a widely appreciated benefit if the Xinjiang-Gwadar link can provide not only a convenient link between China and the Indian Ocean but also an increasingly secure environment in a region whose economy desperately needs it.

And China, of course, has its own security concerns. It is not only the Pakistani end of the proposed corridor which presents security problems; the Chinese end is situated in Xinjiang, an area of recently increased militant activity linked - it would seem - to Islamic terrorist groups in Pakistan. Here, too, the two countries have a significant common interest. Not only will the project involve stepping up security, it should also provide better economic opportunities for the people living along the corridor. The hope is that providing people with the means of economic betterment will convince them that there are more useful aims in life than terror and disruption.

Poverty and lack of opportunity always tend to generate discontent and unrest. Alleviating these can give rise to a virtuous circle whereby prosperity promotes stability and vice versa. Both Pakistan and far western China can benefit from this self-perpetuating cycle of improvement. Neither India nor anybody else has anything to fear from a more secure and prosperous Pakistan - it is largely poverty and lack of development opportunities that have given rise to the dangerous instability in that country.

The writer is a columnist with China.org.cn. For more information please visit: http://www.ccgp-fushun.com/opinion/timcollard.htm

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