News
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Pakistan, China stage war games
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and China are staging joint military exercises, showcasing their relationship as Islamabad’s ties with Washington suffer.
The war games that began on Monday follow remarks by Pakistani officials suggesting that China could step into the economic, military and diplomatic void if Pakistan’s relationship with the United States collapsed.
An army statement says the exercise in Punjab showed that the “Pakistan-China friendship is higher than the mountains and deeper than oceans.”
Washington has courted Pakistan’s army since 2001, but the raid on Osama bin Laden and disagreements over Afghanistan have poisoned the relationship over the last 1 1/2 years.
The joint exercise, spread over a period of two weeks, is fourth in the series in which special forces from both sides are participating. ap
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk