ktlight
23rd May 2011, 09:46
FYI:
Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani is to meet Chinese President Hu Jintao today in Beijing amid signs the countries are boosting already close military ties in the wake of the U.S. raid that killed Osama bin Laden.
Pakistani Defense Minister Ahmad Mukhtar said in a May 18 interview in Beijing that his country was in talks to buy FC-20 jets from China and that teams led by Gilani and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao had discussed boosting production of the jointly produced JF-17 fighter aircraft. The New York Times said China will provide 50 JF-17 fighters immediately for free, citing Pakistan officials it didn’t name.
Gilani’s visit to China comes as Pakistan’s relations with the U.S. have come under strain following the raid on the garrison town of Abbottabad earlier this month that killed al- Qaeda chief bin Laden. Abbottabad is 48 kilometers (30 miles) from Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad. Chinese officials have said anti-terrorist operations should respect national sovereignty.
Pakistan’s delegation told Wen “that our sovereignty had to be accepted by everybody,” Mukhtar said at Beijing’s Great Hall of the People. “We will not let anybody come into our territory without announcing who they are.”
Wen told Gilani that “no matter what changes might take place in the international landscape, China and Pakistan will remain forever good neighbors, good friends, good partners and good brothers.”
U.S. Aid
President Barack Obama has proposed $1.2 billion in aid to Pakistan next year for programs that include counterinsurgency training for its military forces. Five Democratic U.S. senators, including California’s Dianne Feinstein, wrote a May 17 letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Defense Secretary Robert Gates questioning the need for such assistance, saying they were "gravely concerned about the commitment of Pakistan’s security establishment to fighting terrorism."
Almost half of Chinese arms exports between 2001 and 2010, totaling $3.13 billion, went to Pakistan, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
source to continue
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-05-20/gilani-to-meet-hu-as-pakistan-china-strengthen-military-ties.html
Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani is to meet Chinese President Hu Jintao today in Beijing amid signs the countries are boosting already close military ties in the wake of the U.S. raid that killed Osama bin Laden.
Pakistani Defense Minister Ahmad Mukhtar said in a May 18 interview in Beijing that his country was in talks to buy FC-20 jets from China and that teams led by Gilani and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao had discussed boosting production of the jointly produced JF-17 fighter aircraft. The New York Times said China will provide 50 JF-17 fighters immediately for free, citing Pakistan officials it didn’t name.
Gilani’s visit to China comes as Pakistan’s relations with the U.S. have come under strain following the raid on the garrison town of Abbottabad earlier this month that killed al- Qaeda chief bin Laden. Abbottabad is 48 kilometers (30 miles) from Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad. Chinese officials have said anti-terrorist operations should respect national sovereignty.
Pakistan’s delegation told Wen “that our sovereignty had to be accepted by everybody,” Mukhtar said at Beijing’s Great Hall of the People. “We will not let anybody come into our territory without announcing who they are.”
Wen told Gilani that “no matter what changes might take place in the international landscape, China and Pakistan will remain forever good neighbors, good friends, good partners and good brothers.”
U.S. Aid
President Barack Obama has proposed $1.2 billion in aid to Pakistan next year for programs that include counterinsurgency training for its military forces. Five Democratic U.S. senators, including California’s Dianne Feinstein, wrote a May 17 letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Defense Secretary Robert Gates questioning the need for such assistance, saying they were "gravely concerned about the commitment of Pakistan’s security establishment to fighting terrorism."
Almost half of Chinese arms exports between 2001 and 2010, totaling $3.13 billion, went to Pakistan, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
source to continue
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-05-20/gilani-to-meet-hu-as-pakistan-china-strengthen-military-ties.html