Pakistan-China defence ties get a boost

Beijing, 23 Feb. (AKI/DAWN) - Pakistan and China have agreed to bolster their defence ties in the areas of weapons production and development as well as military training and joint exercises. The issues were discussed in a meeting between the Chinese defence minister Cao Gangehuan and Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf, who is on a visit to China.

Musharraf and Cao noted the shared perceptions between their countries on a range of regional and international issues and agreed that their close relations were vital for peace and stability in the region.

On Tuesday Pakistan and China signed a framework agreement to strengthen their defence relations and cooperation following talks between president Musharraf and his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao.

After his visit to Beijing, Musharraf travelled to south-west province of Sichuan, where he will visit the China Aircraft Design Institute and China Aircraft Manufacturing Company (CAMC) in the Sichuan capital Chengdu, to inspect the multi-purpose JF-17 fighter jet, which was jointly manufactured by China and Pakistan.

He will visit both the factory and assembly line of JF-17 Thunder aircraft. The JF-17 is a Mach 1.6-Mach 2 aircraft with advanced avionics. China and Pakistan tested the first prototype of the JF-17 in August 2003 while another test flight was made in Chengdu in September the same year.