New Asian Alliance Formed

China and Pakistan boost the military cooperation

While there is a vigorous discussion about the USA's claims for the world supremacy, Washington's potential rivals in Asia are quietly establishing cooperation, including military and technical cooperation.

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf  is currently on a state visit to China. The joint declaration of the two countries was signed in Beijing on Monday. The document stipulates the military cooperation. Furthermore, the Pakistani president has assured the Chinese leadership that Pakistan will not support anti-Chinese forces. In return, China has assured Pakistan that it will respect Pakistan's sovereignty, the territorial integrity and independence. In addition, China will back up Pakistan in its arguments with India. It is one of the most important parts of the document for Pakistan.

Nevertheless, the above-mentioned support has been programmed before. It is an open secret that India has problems in the relations with both Pakistan and China. Delhi and Beijing periodically announce their intention to develop friendly relations. Yet, there are still a lot of unsolved problems between the two countries. First of all, the Indo-Chinese border has not been distinguished yet (the border presumably goes along mountainous areas). It arises border territory disputes. Secondly, the Chinese expelled Dalay Lama XIV from Tibet - his residence is currently located in India. In Beijing, he is considered to be the inspirer of separatism in Tibet. The Chinese are extremely concerned about his stay in India.

As far as the cooperation between China and Pakistan is concerned, one should say that the issue is troublesome for the US as well. The American intelligence has repeatedly distributed the information about the military cooperation between China and Pakistan - particularly in the development of long-range missiles. China has adequate technologies and Pakistan possesses nuclear heads. It is easy to understand against such a background, why Washington is so concerned about the cooperation between the two countries. If Pakistan has long-range missiles capable of carrying nuclear heads, India and other countries will find themselves in a rather unpleasant situation. Probably, the United States will be on the list too. Needless to mention that the American administration is not happy about such missiles in the arsenal of the country where Islamic fundamentalists enjoy great support.

However, even if such cooperation exists, Washington will not be able to put any obstacles for it. There are no reliable facts to prove it. To crown it all, Pakistan and China reject everything about it, of course. For the time being, the cooperation between Beijing and Islamabad is strictly regional. Who knows what is going to happen in several years? Both Chinese and Pakistani leaderships are rather ambitious.