By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Pew PatriotsPew PatriotsPew Patriots
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
  • Home
  • News
  • Tactical
  • Guns and Gear
  • Prepping & Survival
  • Videos
Reading: New cold front? Kashmir standoff raises specter of US-China proxy fight
Share
Font ResizerAa
Pew PatriotsPew Patriots
  • News
  • Tactical
  • Guns and Gear
  • Prepping & Survival
  • Videos
Search
  • Home
  • News
  • Tactical
  • Guns and Gear
  • Prepping & Survival
  • Videos
Have an existing account? Sign In
Follow US
New cold front? Kashmir standoff raises specter of US-China proxy fight
News

New cold front? Kashmir standoff raises specter of US-China proxy fight

Jimmie Dempsey
Last updated: May 9, 2025 8:05 pm
Jimmie Dempsey Published May 9, 2025
Share
SHARE

The hostilities between India and Pakistan over the contested territory of Kashmir are igniting fears that a localized skirmish could boil over into a wider conflict and threaten the stability of the region.

Watching closely is China and President Xi Jinping, a party to the Kashmir dispute with a stake in the outcome.

“For China, the stakes are high. Pakistan is its closest ally, and Beijing would not like to see it humiliated,” Sadanand Dhume, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), told Fox News Digital.

“Seen through the prism of U.S.-China competition, each country has a ‘side’ in this conflict. China is joined at the hip with Pakistan, whereas the U.S. and India have grown increasingly close over the past two decades,” Dhume added.

PAKISTAN FEARS INDIA INCURSION ‘IMMINENT’ AMID HEIGHTENED TENSIONS FOLLOWING TERROR ATTAC

The U.S. war in Afghanistan after 9/11 created a dependence on Pakistan’s military and intelligence that required close cooperation. Since the withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, U.S. engagement with Pakistan has been limited and Islamabad has less relevance for Washington’s foreign policy aims.

Max Abrahms, an expert on terrorism at Northeastern University, told Fox News Digital that the fight over Kashmir could now become a venue for U.S.-China competition.

“The India-Pakistan conflict may emerge as a proxy war where India is backed by the U.S. and Pakistan is backed by China,” Abrahms said.

Yigal Carmon, president of the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) and a former counterterrorism advisor to the Israeli government, told Fox News Digital that Kashmir is not just a clash between India and Pakistan. If the war escalates, he said, it could lead to the dismantling of Pakistan and have repercussions in Afghanistan, Iran and China.

Indian police truck near Pahalgam

“Balochistan may soon acquire a de-facto independence. China will be one of the main losers of such a development, as it has heavily invested in the Gwadar Port, located in the Balochistan province of Pakistan,” Carmon said.

New Delhi launched retaliatory strikes against Punjab and Pakistan-administered Kashmir following a deadly attack on tourists in the disputed Jammu and Kashmir region on April 22 that saw 26 people killed by terrorists.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi pledged a forceful response, saying the perpetrators will be pursued till the “ends of the earth.”

TRUMP OFFERS TO HELP INDIA, PAKISTAN AMID GROWING CONFLICT: ‘I WANT TO SEE THEM STOP’

Chinese President Xi Jinping, right, hugs Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari

How far Pakistan will target India is uncertain, but Pakistan’s military, which yields significant influence in Pakistani politics, will likely want to exert a powerful response and avoid any appearances that the country looks weak.

“If Pakistan suffers a humiliating defeat, it would weaken the military’s grip on the country,” AEI’s Dhume said.

Dhume also said that any conflict that unravels Pakistan’s domestic stability would give a boost to separatist groups in Balochistan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa provinces who have long sought independence from Pakistan.

PAKISTAN CALLS INDIA’S STRIKES AN ‘ACT OF WAR’ AND CLAIMS IT SHOT DOWN INDIAN FIGHTER JETS

Chietigj Bajpaee, senior research fellow for South Asia at Chatham House, said that India will try to ensure that the conflict remains limited and focus its efforts on targeting terrorists, avoiding civilian casualties. 

Bajpaee told Fox News Digital that maintaining an anti-Indian stance is important to the legitimacy of the Pakistani military and intelligence establishment, and adopting an assertive military posture will be necessary to assuage domestic pressures.

Paramilitary soldiers in India

“Although I don’t see an imminent possibility of Pakistan breaking up or a spillover of the conflict into Iran or Afghanistan, the conflict could fundamentally alter the relationship between the military and the civilian government and population, which has already been in decline,” Bajpaee said.

The fear for many experts and policymakers is whether the clashes lead to inadvertent escalation between two nuclear-armed powers. India and Pakistan have an estimated combined 342 nuclear warheads, according to the Arms Control Association, and their nuclear doctrines are motivated by their mutual enmity and desire to deter the other.  

 

President Donald Trump has not yet engaged directly with Indian or Pakistani officials, but said Wednesday he wants to see them “work it out” and that “if I can do anything to help, I will be there.”

Read the full article here

You Might Also Like

‘You should expect to be shot’: Florida homeowner fatally guns down masked intruder, scares off another

Liberal pundits dub Washington Post’s latest opinion shake-up a ‘terrible tragedy,’ slam Jeff Bezos

Sen. Tillis opens up about role in Pete Hegseth’s confirmation after Hegseth’s ex-sister-in-law’s allegations

Liver cancer patient given 6 months to live loses 76 pounds eating specific foods

House DOGE hearing erupts over Democrat deeming Trump ‘grifter in chief,’ referring to ‘President Musk’

Share This Article
Facebook Twitter Email Print
Leave a Comment

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

We Recommend
Homeland Security removes ‘sanctuary jurisdictions’ list from its website
News

Homeland Security removes ‘sanctuary jurisdictions’ list from its website

Jimmie Dempsey Jimmie Dempsey June 2, 2025
First Look: Galco Miami Classic II Holster for the SIG Sauer P365 X-Macro
Largest Egg Producer In The Southwest Has Been SHUT DOWN
Holocaust survivor among victims in Boulder, Colorado suspected terror attack
CRKT Brings New Redemption Compact to Blade Show
The Best and Worst Places to Ride Out the Collapse
These 7 Guns Will Likely Fail Before 1,000 Rounds – Avoid Them!
TacticalVideos

These 7 Guns Will Likely Fail Before 1,000 Rounds – Avoid Them!

Line45 Line45 June 2, 2025
Hugh Jackman’s rumored flame Sutton Foster stays silent after his ex’s statement about ‘betrayal’
News

Hugh Jackman’s rumored flame Sutton Foster stays silent after his ex’s statement about ‘betrayal’

Jimmie Dempsey Jimmie Dempsey June 2, 2025
First Look: Military Armaments Corp. MAC IX Large-Format Pistol
Tactical

First Look: Military Armaments Corp. MAC IX Large-Format Pistol

Jimmie Dempsey Jimmie Dempsey June 2, 2025
Pew Patriots
  • News
  • Tactical
  • Prepping & Survival
  • Videos
  • Guns and Gear
2024 © Pew Patriots. All Rights Reserved.
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?