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UPDATED: September 10, 2013 Web Exclusive
Closer Military Ties to Enhance Security
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General Khalid Shameem Wynne, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee of Pakistan, co-chaired the 10th China-Pakistan Defense and Security Consultation with Fang Fenghui, Chief of General Staff of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, in Beijing on August 30. On the following day, he answered questions from Beijing Review reporter Pan Xiaoqiao on bilateral military ties. Excerpts follow:

Beijing Review: Your visit to Beijing mainly concerns the 10th China-Pakistan Defense and Security Consultation. What are the major issues in your talks this time?

Khalid Shameem Wynne: We have ongoing talks on many issues. Broadly speaking, these are talks with regards to training issues. We have a wide range of training activities that we have to coordinate. After a few days, Pakistani and Chinese air forces will carry out a joint exercise, known as Shaheen. This is the second of the Shaheen series. We discussed how these exercises can be made more meaningful. These exercises require a lot of planning. We have to set aside resources for it. The time has to be decided. So we discussed a lot of things that are very technical in nature.

Another aspect of training regards the training of officers, which takes place in both Pakistan and China. We discussed how to enhance the training to whatever level is acceptable for both sides. We have discussed the visits of various individuals. I'm very happy to know that from last year onward we have organized young officers' seminars, which is probably one of the first of its kind in the world. We send young officers to each other side. They discuss and exchange visits, and more or less develop the training level of both countries. We have held the event in Pakistan and, probably at the end of this year, young Pakistani officers will visit China to have a seminar and discussions with their counterparts and develop a very good understanding.

There are other issues as well. Terrorism is the central part of this discussion. How we cooperate in the field of counter-terrorism is an issue for Pakistan as well as China at the strategic level. We share views with regards to the regional situation. We look at how it is evolving, not only in this region but also in the world. So the leadership has a deep understanding of each other's views. We found consensus here. There are a lot of inspirations for me and I'm sure for my counterpart as well when he listened to my views. I think it's been an excellent interaction.

What are the results or achievements of your talks with Chinese military leaders on counter-terrorism?

There are certain some details that I'm not going into, but let me tell you that these are very deep discussions on very practical terms. We have an enormous amount of intelligence sharing and in so doing we're satisfied that we're helping each other in an appropriate manner. We have a very clear understanding of who does what. The intelligence sharing is extremely helpful for both sides and that is where we are focusing on the most part. A lot of visits will take place in the near future. That is a long-way process about intelligence sharing, and also we will be discussing other practical steps we have taken with regards to the protection of Chinese nationals within Pakistan, especially against terrorist attacks. So it is a very satisfying and deep relationship that we have developed.

How do you see the threat of Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM) and what has been and will be done to cope with the ETIM threat?

Our political and military leadership have always maintained that ETIM is not only a threat to China, but also to Pakistan. Anything that is working against the stability in west China is obviously affecting the stability of Pakistan. Therefore, this is always a point of discussion between political and military leaderships.

Many in-depth measures have been taken at the governmental as well as military level to make sure that we fight this wherever it attacks and wherever the root of the problem is. If anything happens within Pakistan's territory that is remotely linked to the ETIM terrorism, we use full force against it.

We have full cooperation that has enhanced intelligence sharing. In fact, I am not alone in saying that one of the largest intelligence sharing systems is being put into place between China and Pakistan and it especially covers the ETIM threat. So I think we have had very good results in capturing and limiting terrorists with Chinese help. We are cooperating so well and this is a discussion point at a very deep level. We are quite satisfied with the cooperation.

JF-17 is one example of successful cooperation between the two countries. How do you see this aircraft? Do you have plans to import more advanced fighters from China, such as FC-20?

JF-17 is an excellent program. We are very proud of this aircraft. We participated along with our Chinese brothers in its production. It's especially made for our needs. High technologies were included into this plan. We have plans to make it the mainstay of Pakistan's Air Force very soon.

This aircraft has performed extremely well in our training and exercises. Whenever we carried out some training operational missions, we're totally satisfied. We have plans to export this, but that will take time, because we have a large order from Pakistani Air force, and the production line will keep up with the Pakistani Air Force for quite some time.

Obviously, there are many Chinese aircraft that we're looking into. We have definite plans that at some stage whenever the requirement is there, we'll import future aircraft from China. It's just a question of when the need arises and when we go for it. So, FC-20 and some other aircraft are very much on the table.

According to China's Ministry of Defense, China and India will launch joint anti-terrorism training later this year. What is your comment on this joint training?

China has a very wide range of military relations with the world, especially in the region. I think the decision to go into joint training against terrorism with India is a very good decision by the Chinese authority. There is a problem of terrorism in almost every country. China has a long border with India, so I think it's a very understandable policy to interact at that level with India as well. So I've already said we welcome it.



 
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