Pakistan Turns to China After US Suspends US$800 Million in Military Aid

A senior Pakistani official told CBS News on Sunday that Pakistan’s “close and effective defence ties” with China will be able to “fill the gap” that has been left behind by US withdrawal of military aid.

Earlier in the day, White House Chief of Staff William Daley went on ABC News’ ‘This Week’ to confirm reports that the US was suspending US$800 million worth of military assistance to Pakistan.

A senior Pakistani official told CBS News on Sunday that Pakistan’s “close and effective defence ties” with China will be able to “fill the gap” that has been left behind by US withdrawal of military aid.

Earlier in the day, White House Chief of Staff William Daley went on ABC News’ ‘This Week’ to confirm reports that the US was suspending US$800 million worth of military assistance to Pakistan.

According to Daley, the step to cut $800 million from the budget – a third of what the US is currently giving – is intended to bring Islamabad back in line. Daley added that more cuts should be expected if Pakistan continued to remain defiant.

[quote]Daley said, “right now, they have taken some steps that have given us reason to pause on some of the aid which we were giving to their military, and we’re trying to work through that, and it’s a complicated relationship in a very difficult, complicated part of the world.”

“The Pakistani relationship is difficult, but it must be made to work over time. But until we get through these difficulties, we will hold back some of the money that the American taxpayers have committed to giving.”[/quote]

However, the US decision is unlikely to be met with its desired response as tensions between Islamabad and Washington worsen.

Recently, Pakistan ejected more than 100 US army Special Forces trainers from the country, and limited the ability of U.S. diplomats and other officials in acquiring visas.

Pakistan military officials have also declared that the military had no use for additional support, but rather any assistance from the US should go to the civilian government instead.

[quote]”We have conducted our (anti-extremist) military operations without external support or assistance,” said Major General Athar Abbas. “Reports coming out of the U.S. are aimed at undermining the authority of our military organizations.”[/quote]

According to CBS News, Pakistan has been preparing for a US withdrawal of military aid for some time, and had thus sought to establish stronger military ties with China in the past decade.

Since the turn of the 21^st century, Pakistan began jointly producing the JF-17 Thunder fighter plane with China. Up to 250 JF-17 fighter planes will be deployed by the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) in the future – the largest deployment of any aircraft in the PAF history.

Earlier this year, the Pakistan Navy also began negotiations for its largest single hardware order in its history – the purchase of six new submarines from China.

As such, the US’s decision is a “high-stakes gamble” that is unlikely to pay off, according to Marvin Weinbaum, a scholar in residence at the Washington D.C.-based Middle East Institute.

[quote]”The difficulty here is that there are within Pakistan’s public but even within the military itself, there are many people whose attitude is we don’t care for [the] U.S. military or any other assistance for that matter,” he said.[/quote]