BEIJING: Pakistan and China have a long history of cooperation in different areas which was evident from the White paper titled “China’s National Defense 2010”. The official document issued recently said that in 2003, China ran a joint maritime search-and-rescue exercise with Pakistan, the first ever between China and a foreign country.The 107-page document stated that China has established mechanisms for defense and security consultation and policy dialogue with neighboring countries, including Pakistan, Mongolia, Japan, Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore and India.It has held regular consultations and dialogues at different levels with its neighbors, which focused on Asia-Pacific security, bilateral military relations and regional flashpoint issues, said the White paper.
In recent years, the document said in the border areas, China has conducted military training in bilateral or multilateral border blockade and control, joint counter-terrorism, and carried out joint patrols and inspections respectively with Russia, Tajikistan, Mongolia and Pakistan.China has strengthened military relations with its neighbouring countries. It conducts friendly exchanges with the DPRK and the ROK militaries, attaches importance to Sino-Japanese defense exchanges, strengthens multi-dimensional, Sino-Pakistani military exchanges and cooperation, works to advance the Sino-Indian military relationship, strengthens friendly exchanges with the militaries of ASEAN countries, and promotes military exchanges with countries like Australia and New Zealand.In 2007 and 2009, the PLA participated in multilateral joint maritime exercises organized by the Pakistani navy.
In September 2010, the CISAR team, a PLA medical team and a helicopter rescue formation were sent to Pakistan to conduct humanitarian rescue operations, with the saving and treatment reaching 34,000 person-times in total and 60 tons of airdropped goods and materials.On Sino-India defense relations, the White paper said that in September 1993, China and India signed the Agreement on the Maintenance of Peace and Tranquility Along the Line of Actual Control in the China -India Border Areas, and in November 1996, the two countries signed the Agreement on Confidence-Building Measures in the Military Field Along the Line of Actual Control in the China-India Border Areas.In April 2005, the two countries signed the Protocol on Implementation Measures for Confidence-Building Measures in the Military Field Along the Line of Actual Control in the China-India Border Areas, agreeing on specific implementation measures for certain articles in the 1996 Agreement. – APP
