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Pakistan, China to collaborate and produce fighter jets
Washington, DC, May. 10 (UPI) -- To the dismay of the U.S. Bush
administration, Pakistan and China have agreed to co-produce a new JF-
17 fighter aircraft. This is an indicator that Pakistanis do not trust us, and so want to hedge their bets on China too for their fighter aircraft. It also reflects that Pakistan is an untrustworthy ally at best, like Saudi Arabia, and we shall have to call it quits with both of them, when the time comes.
 China and Pakistan are planning to produce at
least 400 of
the JF-17 fighters, with half made on assembly lines in each country.
JF-17 is a replacement for the F-16s which the US has promised to
deliver to Pakistan. What is surprising is that Pakistan's decision
comes only two months after the United States offered to sell F-16
fighter aircraft to Pakistan, reversing sanctions applied almost 15
years ago over Islamabad's nuclear weapons program.
Photo Credits: Airwar ________________________
China's Chengdu Aircraft Design Institute is the architect of the JF-
17 while its prototypes, first flown last year by Pakistani test
pilots, were made by the Chengdu Aircraft Company based in Sichuan
province, the Financial Times said Tuesday.
The two countries are planning to produce at least 400 of the
fighters, with half made on assembly lines in each country.
At least one U.S. defense analyst said the Bush administration had
little to worry about from a defense standpoint.
"If you put it (JF-17) head to head against an F-16, it would
probably last about five seconds," said Richard Aboulafia, aviation
analyst at the Teal Group.
However, the decision comes only two months after the United States
offered to sell F-16 fighter aircraft to Pakistan, reversing
sanctions applied almost 15 years ago over Islamabad's nuclear
weapons program.
There is also concern in Washington the aircraft could enhance
China's ability to intimidate Taiwan, home to a strong and stubborn
independence movement. This China-Pakistani emphasizes that we
need to get much closer to India- to counter-balance China and
Pakistan.
Without Musharraf would Pakistan be an ally at all!? Even with
Musharraf, they're an ally only as good as Saudi Arabia is: a
necessary ally for the time being - but one who (in a more perfect
world - one free of neojihadism) we could jettison. This latest
China-Pakistan move is a destabilizing and aggressive one that hurts
Taiwan and Japan - our two best allies in the region (along with
South Korea). Story Credits:Washington Times
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