China, Pakistan, and Afghanistan’s trilateral cooperation on security and counterterrorism were held in Islamabad, Pakistan, on May 6, 2023. At the place where China, Pakistan, and Afghanistan’s trilateral cooperation on security and counterterrorism was held, the ministers discussed a variety of issues—including security and counterterrorism, economic cooperation, and regional connectivity.

The three countries agreed to strengthen trilateral cooperation on security and counterterrorism. They reiterated their commitment to fighting terrorism in all its forms. They also agreed to share intelligence and coordinate their efforts to prevent terrorist attacks.

The three countries also discussed economic cooperation. They agreed to work together to promote trade and investment and to develop regional connectivity projects. Additionally, they agreed to cooperate on energy and water resources.

Furthermore, they expressed their support for the Afghan interim government and called for an inclusive political process that leads to a peaceful and stable Afghanistan.

The trilateral agreement between China, Afghanistan, and Pakistan is an essential forum for the three countries to discuss and coordinate their efforts on various issues, including security, counterterrorism, economic cooperation, and regional connectivity.

To find out what the public thinks about the alliance, Real Research, an online survey app, ran a survey on China, Pakistan, and Afghanistan’s trilateral cooperation on security and counterterrorism.

Highlights:

  • Most (56.64%) respondents believe the trilateral agreement could enhance security operations.
  • 16.59% believe cultural and linguistic differences could impede collaboration.
  • 21.87% state that trilateral cooperation should also focus on political dialogue and conflict resolution.

According to our survey on China, Pakistan, and Afghanistan’s trilateral cooperation on security and counterterrorism, we found that the majority of respondents (68.62%) were aware of the cooperation, while 31.38% were unaware.

China has a strong interest in a stable security landscape in Afghanistan, as it shares a long border with the country and is concerned about the potential for instability to spill over into its Xinjiang province. The recent increase in violent attacks between the Afghanistan Taliban group and the Pakistan Taliban group is a major concern for China, as it could lead to further instability in the region.

We asked our respondents how they think the trilateral agreement would impact the security and stability of the region. Results showed that a majority of the respondents (56.64%) think the trilateral agreement could enhance the effectiveness of security operations and intelligence-sharing.

In addition, 17.76% think the agreement could face challenges due to historical tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan, 7.74% think the agreement could potentially lead to greater regional cooperation and understanding, and 7% think the success of the agreement would depend on the commitment and cooperation of the countries.

Furthermore, 6.14% think China’s interest in a stable landscape in Afghanistan could provide additional resources and support for security operations and 4.72% believe it could create new opportunities for regional economic development.

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Figure 1: How would the agreement impact the region’s development?

Potential Challenges

In the following survey, we asked participants to list any potential difficulties or impediments to attaining China, Pakistan, and Afghanistan’s trilateral cooperation on security and counterterrorism alliance.

According to Figure 2, we found that most (16.59%) respondents believed that cultural and linguistic barriers could impede communication and collaboration and 14.23% said limited public awareness and support for trilateral cooperation on security and counterterrorism.

In addition, 8.93% stated the differences in political and strategic interests among the countries and 7.64% said the emergence of new security threats and challenges that divert attention and resources away from the trilateral cooperation efforts.

Call for Input on China, Pakistan, and Afghanistan’s Trilateral Cooperation on Security and Counterterrorism

The governments of China, Pakistan, and Afghanistan have announced a new initiative to strengthen trilateral cooperation. As part of this initiative, they are calling for input from experts and stakeholders on potential focus areas for cooperation.

Our survey respondents were asked to identify other focus areas to consider in this cooperation. The following are some of the areas that have been identified as potential focus areas from our survey results:

Political discourse and conflict resolution were chosen by 21.87% of respondents, cross-border trade and investment facilitation were chosen by 8.99%, humanitarian aid, and disaster relief were chosen by 8.42%, energy, and natural resource development were chosen by 7.94%, and women’s rights were chosen by 7.88%.

What-should-this-trilateral-cooperation-focus-areas-be
Figure 3: What should this trilateral cooperation focus areas be?

The Taliban government has since hoped to attract Chinese investment in its reserves of minerals such as copper and lithium. Afghanistan is estimated to have the world’s largest lithium reserves and the second-largest copper reserves. However, the country’s mineral wealth has been largely untapped due to decades of conflict and society’s instability.

The Taliban has expressed a willingness to work with China on developing Afghanistan’s mineral resources. China is a major consumer of minerals, and it has been investing heavily in mining projects in Africa and Latin America. The Taliban hopes that China will be willing to invest in Afghanistan’s mineral sector, which could help to boost the country’s economy and improve the lives of its people.

When the survey respondents were asked to identify the outcome of this cooperation, a majority of respondents (65.58%) were positive about the outcome, compared to 23.42% who said otherwise. Meanwhile, 11% remained uncertain about the consequences.

Respondents Weigh In on Trilateral Agreement Between China, Afghanistan, and Pakistan

When we asked our respondents about their opinion on this trilateral cooperation, we found that 25.37% of respondents were concerned that this agreement may be used by China to further its own interests and increase its regional influence and 21.07% believe the trilateral cooperation was a positive step towards addressing shared security concerns and promoting economic development in the regions.

Furthermore, 16.02% of respondents were skeptical of the effectiveness of this agreement and 15.65% believed the agreement would potentially strengthen cooperation and promote stability in the regions.

Lastly, the survey asked the respondents about their stance on the agreement. Most of the respondents (46.25%) remained neutral, 27.18% opposed the agreement, and 26.57% supported the agreement.

Methodology

Survey TitleSurvey on China, Pakistan, and Afghanistan’s Trilateral Cooperation on Security and Counterterrorism
DurationMay 15, 2023 – May 22, 2023
Number of Participants10,000
DemographicsMales and females, aged 21 to 99
Participating Countries Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Benin, Bolivia, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Chile, China, China (Hong Kong) China (Macao), China (Taiwan), Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Greanada, Guatemala, Honduras, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Ivory Coast, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lebanon, Libya, Lithuania, Malaysia, Maldives, Maluritania, Mexico, Moldova, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar [Burma], Namibia, Nepal, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Vietnam, Yemen, Zimbabwe.