'Joint air force training amid pandemic reflective of China and Pakistan's deep friendship'

The China-Pakistan joint air force training amid the Covid-19 pandemic reflects the profound friendship between the two countries, which is conducive to improving the comprehensive combat capability of the two militaries, Chinese experts said on Tuesday.

A batch of Chinese air force troops left for the Pakistan Air Force base near Karachi to participate in a joint air force exercise “Shaheen-IX”, a week after the Chinese defense minister’s visit to the country, according to Global times.

The Chinese defense ministry announced that China and Pakistan would hold the joint air force training dubbed ‘Shaheen-IX,’ which would last until the end of December.

According to the ministry, the joint training, part of the 2020  China-Pakistan military cooperation plan, will play a positive role in promoting military relations, deepening practical cooperation between the air forces of the two countries, and improving the actual level of combat training of the two forces.

This is the ninth time the two air forces have held the “Shaheen” joint training.

The first training was held in March 2011, in Pakistan, and the last one was held in Northwest China in August, 2019, and had lasted for half a month. The training in 2019 involved some 50 aircrafts, most number of personnel and complete combat units.

On December 1, Chinese State Councilor and Defense Minister Wei Fenghe met with President Dr Arif Alvi and Prime Minister Imran Khan during his visit to the country.

Wei said China was willing to work with Pakistan to maintain close communication, enhance strategic mutual trust and coordination, push military-to-military relations to a closer level, jointly respond to various risks and challenges, and firmly uphold the sovereignty and security interests of the two countries as well as regional peace and stability.

Fu Qianshao, a Chinese military aviation expert told the Global Times that although the joint air force training this year is being held later than previous years, the fact that it was held as usual shows the deep friendship between China and Pakistan, and the importance the two countries attach to military exchanges.

Fu believes that the two militaries can learn a lot through years of exchanges, especially in the field of actual combat training, that is conducive to improving the comprehensive combat capability of the two militaries.

The confrontations between India-Pakistan and China-India will not affect the normal military exchanges between China and Pakistan, said Fu.

India’s frequent military exercises with other countries have given it little reason to question normal military exchanges among other countries, he added.