I suppose in the much larger picture, 50 fighter jets from China do not mean a lot, especially since Pakistan entered the joint venture with China for their production in the first place. It is worth noting that China footed the bill for the jet’s production. However, the smaller picture shows a clear indication of Pakistan strengthening ties with others, while trying to move away from dependency on the US. The picture becomes even more vivid when the Osama bin Laden raid factor is included.
China and Pakistan have jointly produced the JF-17 aircraft, but the new planes would be equipped with more sophisticated avionics, the officials said. The latest jet fighters would be paid for by China, they said.
The announcement came as Pakistan’s already tense relations with the United States soured further after the killing of Osama bin Laden deep inside Pakistan on May 2.
Last week, Pakistan’s spy chief denounced the United States in a rare briefing before Parliament in which he condemned the American raid for breaching Pakistan’s sovereignty. Parliament, in turn, called for the government to revisit relations with the United States.
Mr. Gilani’s visit to Beijing served as a pointed reminder of Pakistani suggestions that the government might seek to recalibrate relations with the United States, using China to offset what many here view as an overdependence on Washington.
Pakistan, like most Muslim nations, is a corrupt and despotic country. But at least you know who and what you’re dealing with. But since President Musharraf has been ousted there is a certain level of the unknown. What is known is that Pakistan has not been the partner we hoped they would be, nor the kind they said they would be. Despite receiving billions of dollars in aid, they’ve drug their feet – to put it nicely – against al Qaeda and the Taliban. More importantly, some of the highest members of our government are publically saying that many Pakistani government officials and its military knew the whereabouts of bin Laden.
The United States may be Pakistan’s largest benefactor, but China is Pakistan’s largest trading partner, and for years the Chinese have heavily invested in building a deep-water port in the Pakistani city of Gwadar.
China is often referred to as Pakistan’s “all-weather friend,” a contrast to the common depiction of its up-and-down relationship with the United States, which is deeply unpopular here.
The United States has invested in a special relationship with India. Both China and Pakistan, on the other hand, view India as a rival. They share an interest in containing India’s regional influence, particularly as the United States draws down its forces in Afghanistan, a process the Obama administration says it will start this summer.
At a landmark meeting on April 16 in the Afghan capital, Kabul, top Pakistani officials suggested to Afghan leaders that they, too, needed to look to China, an ascendant power, rather than align themselves closely with the United States, according to Afghan officials.
“You couldn’t tell exactly what they meant, whether China could possibly be an alternative to the United States, but they were saying it could help both countries,” an Afghan official said afterward.