Context
Pakistan and China have denied reports that a recent joint military exercise by the two countries is being conducted with the aim of pressuring India. A report published in the Times of India on Saturday however claimed the exercise was an attempt by China to exert pressure on New Delhi along the Pakistani border, which adjoins the Rajasthan desert. The Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao, dismissed the reports as baseless.
The Information Office of the Chinese Ministry of National Defense stated on Tuesday, “According to the annual exchange plan between China and Pakistan’s militaries, the two armies will hold the ‘Friendship 2011’ joint anti-terror exercise near Islamabad.” The training which will start on Nov 16 will provide strategic help to Pakistan through the provision of military arms, ammunition, and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV).
