The Big Picture: Affinity in securing China’s border

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Border security stands among the top agenda in countries around the world. It is their first line of defense, after all in land, sea or air to welcome the good and wanted, or shun away the threats.

Monitoring and securing one’s borders have become more imperative as countries open up to trade and become more interconnected. Controls, checks and balances are needed, for a lax in terms can expose countries to potentially more harm than good.

For a country as huge as China – with its extensive borders – securing them can prove to be a challenge.

Photo of Khunjerab Pass /CGTN Photo

CGTN correspondent Han Bin paid a visit to the Khunjerab Pass, the border crossing between Pakistan and China. It is a key strategic point in Northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

The pass, which is also the highest paved international border crossing in the world at 4,733 meters, is a magnificent sight to behold, with its vast green lands and snow-capped mountains.

Home to many

Border security, beyond what is mostly seen as protecting a country’s sovereignty and economic prosperity, is also home to many who have given their heart and lives in protecting these borders.

Janidin Jomajan is a herdsman at the Khunjerab Pass Border Guard.

His family lives in the closest Chinese village to the border with Pakistan and has built a strong affinity to the border they call home.

“Starting from my father, my family has been helping the People’s Liberation Army soldiers on border security. We’ve experienced extreme cold and heat. We are honored to help them,” Janidin says.

Janidin Jomajan, a herdsman at the Khunjerab Pass Border Guard /CGTN Photo

The temperature at the Khunjerab Pass drops to as low as below minus 30 degrees during winter, with the pass usually closed for 5 months from November 30 to May 1.

According to LT, Jiao Dongtao, a soldier at the Khunjerab Pass, the snow was so thick during winter that cars can’t drive up.

Still, the 15 soldiers brave through the thick snow to reach the outpost, no matter how challenging the feat.

Security controls in various forms

“We take border security very seriously. Our company has adopted a series of measures, including extension of patrol time, increasing the number of border guards, and using herdsmen as border guards, as well as joint patrols with Pakistani soldiers. All these are to guarantee border security and stability,” says LT. Jiao.

Although LT, Jiao and his fellow soldiers are only in charge of 5 kilometers, any distance – short or long – is crucial when it comes to security.

There were reportedly terrorists who plotted attacks in Xinjiang and were trying to infiltrate through Khunjerab. The terrorists are said to be trained in other countries.

LT. Jiao Dongtao, a soldier at the Khunjerab Pass /CGTN Photo‍

Also, there could be the issue of drug dealers attempting to smuggle goods into the Chinese market. Note that besides Pakistan, the Khunjerab Pass is also near Afghanistan and Tajikistan.

Janidin spares a few hours a day to help the outpost inspections.

His family’s familiarity with the environment proves to be valuable, as they are able to observe movement and changes quickly, picking up anything suspicious.

“The soldiers leave their own hometowns to protect the border. I want to protect my homeland together with them,” says Janidin, who together with the herdsmen graze livestock on the pasture to help protect the border.

Although Janidin speaks a different language (in Tajik) from LT. Jiao (in Mandarin), they feel for China all the same.

Ensuring peace in continued times

“I hope we can always see peace at the Khunjerab Pass. And let our motherland and people rest assured,” says LT. Jiao.

National security aside, a peacefully and well-managed border security could also bolster the relationship between the countries.

In this case, The Khunjerab Pass has seen China-Pakistan relations strengthened through the $46 billion China Pakistan Economic Corridor. This highest point of the Karakoram Highway links China’s western frontier with Pakistan’s naval base at Gawadar.

Knowingly, different countries have their respective objectives, aims, and interests.

Janidin’s family is grateful that the China-Pakistan border enjoys stable peace. This goes to show that even with differences, it is possible to not only harness peace but to also promote the economic growth of these two countries.

Let us also not forget that borders serve as homes to many, just as "Khun' in the Khunjerab name means home from the local Wakhi language.