Thursday, January 5, 2012

Kayani off to China to buttress defence ties

Kayani off to China to buttress defence ties
China defense blog- 
 Pakistan Army Chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani left for China on Wednesday in what is seen as a crucial development in the backdrop of changing security dynamics in this region.


An official statement says General Kayani left for Beijing on a five-day official visit at the invitation of Chinese authorities. The event is widely seen in sequel to Pakistan’s initiative for reviewing rules of engagement with the US amid its ongoing row with the Western military alliance just days after Pakistan’s military rejected the findings of a NATO launched probe into Mohmand Agency attack on two military pickets in November last year.
 Kayani off to China to buttress defence ties







‘During his visit, General Kayani will call on China’s political and military leadership. The interaction will encompass the complete range of Pak-China relations, related to security and defence’, Pakistan Army statement said.

Some important defence pacts consensus on which is likely to be arrived at during the aforesaid visit include Pak-China border security cooperation, proposed anti-drug trafficking measures and joint military exercises.

The Pakistani military, according to official sources, is set to review the anti-human trafficking and narcotics control agreements it had signed with the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and were previously overseen under the umbrella of NATO-Russia Council (NRC). The part of these agreements that exclusively concerns Pak-Russia bilateral cooperation on human smuggling and narcotics trade would reportedly stay intact while several key agreements falling under the official ambit of NRC are to be either reviewed or cancelled.

In addition, it is learnt, the Pak-China border security cooperation entails bilateral agreements on joint border patrolling, surveillance and intelligence information exchange to stop the infiltration of illegal immigrants from both sides of the Gilgit-Baltistan-Xinjiang border and bilateral understandings on defence production.

Military cooperation in this regard is reportedly finalised between China‘s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and Northern Light Infantry (NLI), an operational regiment of Pakistan Army deputed in Gilgit-Baltistan.

The proposed enhanced cooperation between PLA and NLI is widely perceived as part of Pakistani security establishment’s counter narrative strategy against its hostile relationship with the allies amid the US reported reservations over NLI’s close collaboration with the Chinese Army.

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