China, Pak officials talk of producing jets and missiles
Light weight combat aircraft FC1 Xiaolong to be mass produced
The mass production of a jointly developed multi-role combat jet and a wide array of missiles in Pakistan was on the agenda for meetings of the Sinopakistani military top brass in Beijing on Thursday, experts said.
The China-pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) topped the agenda, with both countries vowing to protect the $46-billion project by increasing security along its route and strengthening manpower.
A top Chinese official said the CPEC will be made into a “landmark” project.
Pakistan Army chief, Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa, held separate meetings with Gen Fan Changlong, vice chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC) that is headed by President XI Jinping, and Fang Fenghui, chief of the Joint Staff Department under the CMC.
Li Zuocheng, commander of the People’s Liberation Army, and Shao Yuanming, deputy chief of the Joint Staff Department, also attended the meetings.
Besides military officials, Bajwa met vice-premier Zhang Gaoli, a member of the elite Standing Committee of the Communist Party’s Politburo.
Song Zhongping, a military expert who served in the Second Artillery Corps (now known as the PLA Rocket Force), said: “Weapon exchanges, including the mass production of FC-1 Xiaolong, a lightweight and multi-role combat aircraft developed jointly by the two countries, will be furthered after the meeting.”
Song told the nationalistic Global Times tabloid: “China’s authorisation to Pakistan to produce ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, anti-aircraft missiles, anti-ship missiles and main battle tanks in Pakistan is also on the agenda.”
China’s foreign ministry played down the reports, saying defence cooperation with Pakistan was “normal”.
“China and Pakistan maintain normal defence exchanges and relevant cooperation,” foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told a regular news briefing.
Referring to the joint production of aircraft and missiles, Hua said: “from the news release, we didn’t see anything on an agreement on ballistic missile.”
China on Friday evaded a direct response to its reported involvement in Pakistan’s decision to declare the strategic Gilgit-baltistan region, bordering Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (POK), as its fifth province.
The China-pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the flagship project in President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative to achieve connectivity spanning continents, passes through Gilgit-baltistan.
Asked about reports that Beijing’s concerns played a hand in Islamabad’s decision to upgrade the status of the region because of the CPEC, foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying didn’t give a direct response.
“The essence of the question is Kashmir (dispute),” she said, adding the dispute was leftover from history. Repeating China’s official stand on the dispute, she said: “It should be resolved between the two sides through dialogue and consultation. The CPEC will not affect China’s position on the relevant issue.”
India has criticised the move on Gilgit-baltistan, saying it will not be able to hide the illegality of Pakistan’s occupation of parts of Jammu and Kashmir.