Foreign Correspondence

[Amaunet]

Pakistan and China agree on new fighter jets
By Farhan Bokhari in Islamabad and Demetri Sevastopulo in Washington
Published: May 9 2005 19:58 / Last updated: May 10 2005 00:05

Pakistan and China have agreed to start joint production of a new fighter aircraft intended as a replacement for the ageing French and Chinese aircraft used by Pakistan's Air Force, a senior Pakistani airforce officer said on Monday.


The agreement comes only two months after the US offered to sell F-16 fighter aircraft to Pakistan, reversing sanctions applied almost 15 years ago over Islamabad's nuclear weapons programme.

The move also comes as the US voices concern about the rise of the Chinese military. China passed an anti-secession law in March that would require its military to use force to block any Taiwanese moves towards independence.

Tom Donnelly, defence analyst at the American Enterprise Institute, said the new JF-17 could enhance China's ability to intimidate Taiwan and mount an air campaign following a missile attack on the island.

“These are pieces of the puzzle that China are putting together that work together very well in a complementary fashion,” said Mr Donnelly. “Each piece per se you would be able to deal with, but it will all complicate a quick US response [to any attack on Taiwan].”

John Pike, defence analyst at GlobalSecurity.org, says it is not clear whether China would buy the jet. But he says they likely would buy some to complement the Chinese-built J-10, which is replacing China's aging fleet of Soviet-ear jets.

"The US would have to be concerned about what it might do with respect to Taiwan," said Mr Pike. The first four of the JF-17 “Thunder” aircraft would be delivered to Pakistan next year for trial flights, while the supply of 150 aircraft would begin in 2007, said Air Vice Marshal Shahid Latif, project director.

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 [JF-17] project is not only of strategic importance to the air force but it has far-reaching implications both for the national defence and economic prosperity of Pakistan,” Air Vice Marshal Latif said in a rare press briefing.

Pakistan and China were planning to produce at least 400 JF-17 fighters, with the balance of 250 of them on order for China's airforce. Pakistani air force officials said that, under the agreement between their two countries, half the fighters would be produced on an assembly line in China while the other half would be made in Pakistan.

But some analysts said the JF-17 would not pose any threat to the US. "If you want hundreds of planes to look size a sizable air force, it comes in handy," said Richard Aboulafia, aviation analyst at the Teal Group. "It does not come in handy in any other circumstances. If you put it head to head against an F-16 it would probably last about 5 seconds."

Michael O'Hanlon, defence analyst at the Brookings Institution, said the US was less concerned with fighter jets produced by China.

"These are a couple of middle range technological powers," said Mr O'Hanlon. "I worry a lot more about Soviet-era MiGs and Su-27s and Israeli command and control and any help with their pilot training.”

A Pakistani government official said the JF-17 project was being pursued with a view to exporting the fighter to other countries.

“It's the first time China plans to export the JF-17 to another country and Pakistan's experience could help China with its future marketing efforts.”

One US Senate aide said the move by Pakistan was partly aimed at reducing its dependency on the US to provide fighter jets.





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