Pakistan, China sign historic defense pact
ISN SECURITY WATCH (06/04/05) - Pakistan and China on Tuesday signed 22 agreements on boosting cooperation in defense, nuclear energy, trade, mineral exploration, and information technology, in what officials from both sides called a landmark treaty.
The treaty of “friendship, cooperation, and good neighborly relations” was signed during a three-day visit to Islamabad by Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao.
China repeated its pledge to help Pakistan defend its territorial integrity, while Pakistan reiterated its support for a “One China” policy in the face of Taiwanese separatism.
Also on Tuesday, Pakistan’s deputy army chief-of staff, General Ahsan Saleen Hayat, said Pakistan supported China’s anti-secession law that calls for the use of force against Taiwan if it declared independence. Visiting Beijing, Hayat told Chinese Defense Minister Cao Gangchuan that the Pakistani military valued cooperation with the Chinese military and sought to further those exchanges.
Back in Islamabad, Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said the treaty was “unique in the sense that the two countries have no such pact with any other country and it would serve as a turning point in our already strong relations”.
Pakistan’s Ambassador to China, Salman Bashir, told ISN Security Watch that the most significant aspect of the visit was the “clear, unambiguous, and categorical assurance” by China to defend Pakistan's sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity.
Beijing agreed to encourage the flow of goods from western China through the Pakistani ports of Karachi and Gwadar to the Middle East and beyond, while Islamabad consented to a “transport and energy corridor to and from China”.
Bilateral trade between China and Pakistan now stands at US$2.5 billion, with Chinese exports to Pakistan accounting for US$1.5 billion.
The two countries also signed an agreement for Pakistan to buy four Chinese-built F-22P frigates for the Pakistani navy. According to the Pakistani Defense Ministry, the frigates will be equipped with organic helicopters designed for anti-submarine warfare, and armed with surface-to-surface and surface-to-air missiles, among other self-defense systems.
Analysts see the unprecedented warmth in Sino-Pakistani relations as a reaction to growing US-India ties - and in particular, Washington’s offer to sell India Patriot missiles and F-18 and F-16 fighter jets.
Dr Tahir Amin, an MIT expert on international relations, told ISN Security Watch that China was playing a double-handed game in the region.
“One the one hand, [China] is pursuing separate bilateral ties with India and Pakistan, but on the other, it wants to strengthen Pakistan as an antidote to India and to limit the US role in the country,” he said.
In the meantime, the Chinese prime minister also delivered a keynote address at a meeting of the 26-member Asia Cooperation Dialogue in Islamabad, saying that Asia had no reason to fear a stronger China.
“China will never seek hegemony,” Wen said.
(By Naveed Ahmad in Islamabad)
ISN SECURITY WATCH (06/04/05) - Pakistan and China on Tuesday signed 22 agreements on boosting cooperation in defense, nuclear energy, trade, mineral exploration, and information technology, in what officials from both sides called a landmark treaty.
The treaty of “friendship, cooperation, and good neighborly relations” was signed during a three-day visit to Islamabad by Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao.
China repeated its pledge to help Pakistan defend its territorial integrity, while Pakistan reiterated its support for a “One China” policy in the face of Taiwanese separatism.
Also on Tuesday, Pakistan’s deputy army chief-of staff, General Ahsan Saleen Hayat, said Pakistan supported China’s anti-secession law that calls for the use of force against Taiwan if it declared independence. Visiting Beijing, Hayat told Chinese Defense Minister Cao Gangchuan that the Pakistani military valued cooperation with the Chinese military and sought to further those exchanges.
Back in Islamabad, Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said the treaty was “unique in the sense that the two countries have no such pact with any other country and it would serve as a turning point in our already strong relations”.
Pakistan’s Ambassador to China, Salman Bashir, told ISN Security Watch that the most significant aspect of the visit was the “clear, unambiguous, and categorical assurance” by China to defend Pakistan's sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity.
Beijing agreed to encourage the flow of goods from western China through the Pakistani ports of Karachi and Gwadar to the Middle East and beyond, while Islamabad consented to a “transport and energy corridor to and from China”.
Bilateral trade between China and Pakistan now stands at US$2.5 billion, with Chinese exports to Pakistan accounting for US$1.5 billion.
The two countries also signed an agreement for Pakistan to buy four Chinese-built F-22P frigates for the Pakistani navy. According to the Pakistani Defense Ministry, the frigates will be equipped with organic helicopters designed for anti-submarine warfare, and armed with surface-to-surface and surface-to-air missiles, among other self-defense systems.
Analysts see the unprecedented warmth in Sino-Pakistani relations as a reaction to growing US-India ties - and in particular, Washington’s offer to sell India Patriot missiles and F-18 and F-16 fighter jets.
Dr Tahir Amin, an MIT expert on international relations, told ISN Security Watch that China was playing a double-handed game in the region.
“One the one hand, [China] is pursuing separate bilateral ties with India and Pakistan, but on the other, it wants to strengthen Pakistan as an antidote to India and to limit the US role in the country,” he said.
In the meantime, the Chinese prime minister also delivered a keynote address at a meeting of the 26-member Asia Cooperation Dialogue in Islamabad, saying that Asia had no reason to fear a stronger China.
“China will never seek hegemony,” Wen said.
(By Naveed Ahmad in Islamabad)
