China rejects report about training Pakistanis near LoC

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hong Lei says there are no facts backing relevant reports

China has rejected a report in the Indian media that its troops were training Pakistani soldiers right on the Line of Control (LoC). Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hong Lei said on Monday that the report was not based on facts, according to the Times of India (ToI).

“There are no facts backing relevant reports,” he said in a brief reply during the regular media briefing. He was responding to a report in India which said the Border Security Force’s intelligence wing has found that Chinese troops were training Pakistani soldiers across the Rajouri sector.

According to ToI, China is one of the biggest exporters of arms to Pakistan, and it is not unusual for Chinese troops to train Pakistani soldiers on the use of arms. But they have not been known to be active on the Rajouri sector.

Chinese forces are in close touch with the Pakistani military because Beijing needs assistance from Pakistani military to keep a check on the movement of Xinjiang terrorists, who are known to be closely connected with the Pakistani Taliban.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 18^th, 2014.