China and Pakistan to hold first counter-terrorism exercises in 5 years amid growing attacks

Islamabad —

China said on Tuesday it would send troops to Pakistan later this month for the countries’ first joint anti-terrorism military exercise in five years to boost security cooperation with its South Asian neighbor and close ally. South.

The announcement follows reports that Beijing is pushing Islamabad to allow its security personnel to protect thousands of Chinese nationals working in Pakistan from deadly terrorist attacks. It also comes amid a surge in terrorist attacks on Pakistani security forces attributed to or claimed by the banned group Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, commonly known as TTP.

On Tuesday, China’s Defense Ministry said the Pakistan-hosted “Warrior-VIII” exercise is expected to begin in late November and continue until mid-December “with the aim… of strengthening the capacity to conduct operations joint counter-terrorism operations,” according to the Chinese. state media.

The ministry said the exercise would involve troops from the Western Theater Command of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army.

“The two sides will engage in multi-level mixed training in various specialties and hold live troop exercises in accordance with the actual combat process,” according to state media.

China and Pakistan last conducted joint counter-terrorism military exercises in 2019.

A series of attacks

Last month, a suicide car bombing just outside the airport in Pakistan’s southern port city of Karachi killed two Chinese engineers. The victims were returning to work after a vacation in Thailand on a project as part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a multibillion-dollar expansion of President Xi Jinping’s global Belt and Road Initiative.

In March, a suicide car bombing in northern Pakistan killed five Chinese workers and their local driver.

The repeated attacks on its nationals have reportedly angered China, prompting it to urge Pakistan to negotiate a common security management system to ensure the safety of Chinese citizens in the country.

The Pakistani government, however, dismissed China’s alleged diplomatic pressure as “media speculation” and an attempt to “create confusion” regarding Islamabad’s relations with Beijing.

“Pakistan and China maintain strong dialogue and cooperation on a range of issues, including counter-terrorism and security of Chinese nationals in Pakistan,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mumtaz said last Thursday. Baloch, to journalists during his weekly press conference.

“We will continue to work with our Chinese brothers for the safety and security of Chinese nationals, projects and institutions in Pakistan,” she said.

Shake the links

Baloch added that attempts to undermine mutual trust and cooperation between the two countries will not succeed, and the two countries “will not allow any efforts or stories to derail the Pakistan-China strategic partnership.”

Speaking at a seminar in Islamabad just days after the Karachi car bombing, Chinese Ambassador Jiang Zaidong publicly questioned the host government’s security measures to deter threats against Chinese nationals.

“It is unacceptable that we are attacked twice in just six months,” Jiang said. He urged Islamabad to take “effective remedial measures to prevent recurrence of such terrorist acts and ensure that the perpetrators are identified, arrested and punished.”

Pakistan dismissed the Chinese envoy’s remarks as “confusing” and against established diplomatic traditions between the neighbors.

The Pakistani response was unprecedented, and Jiang’s public rebuke of Islamabad highlighted tensions stemming from attacks on Chinese nationals that have resulted in the loss of at least 21 lives over the past five years.

“Sanctuaries of Afghan terrorism”

The joint exercises between Pakistani and Chinese troops come amid a dramatic surge in deadly militant attacks on security forces and civilians in Pakistan, which authorities say are being orchestrated from “TTP sanctuaries” in Afghanistan neighbor. The country’s Islamist Taliban leaders reject the allegations.

Yue Xiaoyong, China’s special envoy for Afghan affairs, visited Islamabad this week, where Pakistani officials reportedly shared with him evidence regarding the TTP’s presence in Afghanistan and the threat it poses to regional stability .

Neither Islamabad nor Beijing have commented on the media reports. A brief Pakistani statement after the meeting said the discussion focused on the Afghan situation, with both sides reaffirming “the vital role of neighboring countries for a peaceful and stable Afghanistan.”