Advantages for China:
- It will provide China a short route to oil-rich West Asia and Africa.
- China can use the port to transport fuel into north-western China, by transporting oil and gas from the port through pipelines to China’s Xinjiang province.
- As China’s oil imports increase, it would prefer to insulate its energy transports from the troubled waters of the Straits of Malacca and the South China Sea.
Disadvantages for India:
- Gwadar provides China a key listening post to observe the Indian naval activities around the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Aden.
- Gwadar Port will reduce Pakistan’s dependence on Karachi Port, which is much closer to India and hence within the Indian military’s strike range.
- Lease of Gwadar port also helps China to encircle India (String of Pearls) and gain strategic advantage in the region.
- Port could be used for military purposes by China