INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
China supporting Pakistan's sovereignty through arms sale: Global TimesBEIJING: There is no military alliance
between China and Pakistan, but China's arms exports to Pakistan are a powerful weapon to safeguard the South Asian country's military
sovereignty, state-run Global Times said in a commentary.Pakistan has been shunning the US in favour of Chinese high-technology weapons, the
Financial Times reported earlier this week.Since 2010, US arms exports to Pakistan plummeted from $1 billion to just $21 million last year,
according to the report, while China has become Pakistan's most consistent supplier of military hardware.It is Pakistan's full right to
choose who to buy from in the global arms market, which has long been dominated by the US, Global Times reported Thursday.Washington always
imposes conditions such as political criteria and strategic arrangement for its economic aid.Military assistance works the same way.One of
the US' principles in arms exports is targeting turbulent regions and supporting its allies in those areas through defense exports to
maximize US national interests, it added.According to the newspaper, the US said it was suspending at least $900 million in security
assistance to Pakistan until it takes action against the Afghan Taliban and the Haqqani network militant groups.With its military
assistance, the US aims to force Pakistan to act according to a scenario written by Washington.Onerous conditions imposed with military aid
and arms exports to a certain degree harm Pakistan's military sovereignty.It is normal to see Pakistan making efforts to diversify the
sources of its arms imports.That is where China comes in.Although China's overall strength in military technology still lags behind that of
the US, the country's defense products have emerged in the world's arms market with a high performance-to-price ratio.China's rising profile
in this field gives options to arms importers like Pakistan, breaking the Western hegemony in military sales.As for China's arms exports,
the government has always taken a prudent and responsible attitude to carry out strict management in accordance with relevant UN Security
Council resolutions and Chinese laws.China's arms exports will be conductive to enhancing recipient countries' capability of legitimate
self-defense.The Chinese government imposes no political conditions in the arms trade."Beijing doesn't allow its arms exports to disturb
regional peace, but it also has no intention of interfering in the internal affairs of the recipient countries.What lies behind the
increasing interest of Pakistan in working with China in arms trade is its intention of safeguarding the country's military
sovereignty."China's arms exports to Pakistan will not lead to a military alliance; instead, they will strengthen the South Asian country's
