ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar began meetings today, Tuesday, with Chinese officials during a three-day visit to Beijing to discuss “the evolving regional situation in South Asia and its implications for peace and stability,” the foreign office said.

The Beijing visit comes as the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) has hailed the use of Chinese J-10Cs to shoot down six Indian fighter jets, including three French Rafales, during a flare-up in hostilities that saw the nuclear-armed neighbors pound each other with missiles, drones and artillery for four days until the United States brokered a ceasefire earlier this month. 

For China, Pakistan is a strategic and economic ally. It is investing over $60 billion to build infrastructure, energy and other projects in Pakistan as part of its China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. 

India and China, on the other hand, are competing regional giants and nuclear powers and widely seen as long-term strategic rivals, sharing a 3,800 Himalayan border that has been disputed since the 1950s and sparked a brief war in 1962. The most recent standoff — that started in 2020 — thawed in October as the two sides struck a patrolling agreement.

Starting a day of meetings on Tuesday, Dar, who is also the foreign minister of Pakistan, met with the Minister of International Department of the Communist Party of China (IDCPC), Liu Jianchao.

“The DPM/FM appreciated China’s firm support to Pakistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and issues of its core interest,” the foreign office said in a statement. 

“Liu reiterated that as All-Weather Strategic Cooperative Partner and ironclad friend, China would continue to prioritize its relations with Pakistan.”

In an earlier statement, the foreign office in Islamabad said Dar would discuss with Chinese leaders “the evolving regional situation in South Asia and its implications for peace and stability.”

“The two sides will also review the entire spectrum of Pakistan-China bilateral relations and exchange views on regional and global developments of mutual interest,” the statement added.

The conflict between India and Pakistan has offered the world a first real glimpse into how advanced Chinese military technology performs against proven Western hardware and Chinese defense stocks have already been surging as a result. 

A rising military superpower, China hasn’t fought a major war in more than four decades but has raced under President Xi Jinping to modernize its armed forces, pouring resources into developing sophisticated weaponry and cutting-edge technologies.

It has also extended that modernization drive to Pakistan, long hailed by Beijing as its “ironclad brother.”

Over the past five years, China has supplied 81 percent of Pakistan’s imported weapons, according to data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

Those exports include advanced fighter jets, missiles, radars and air-defense systems. Some Pakistan-made weapons have also been co-developed with Chinese firms or built with Chinese technology and expertise.

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Monday an Indian aircraft carrier that had reached as close as 400 nautical miles to Pakistan retreated after realizing the country’s navy was prepared to “respond vigorously” during a military confrontation between the two nations earlier this month. 

The United States played a major role in de-escalating the worst fighting in decades between the two nuclear-armed South Asian rivals, who fired missiles and drones onto each other’s territory and fought with gunfire on their de facto border following weeks of tensions after a deadly April 22 attack on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir that New Delhi blamed on Islamabad. Pakistan denies involvement.. 

On Monday, the Pakistani PM visited the Naval Dockyard in Karachi to pay tribute to the Pakistan navy for its role in Operation Bunyan-um Marsoos, the code-name given by the Pakistan army to what it calls a retaliatory strike launched in the early hours of May 10 after India attacked at least three of its air bases with missiles. 

“The Prime Minister particularly praised the Navy’s critical role in safeguarding sea lines of communication and ensuring the uninterrupted flow of maritime trade, while maintaining absolute maritime sovereignty through a layered and assured seaward defense,” state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported.

In his address, Sharif said Indian aircraft carrier Vikrant had retreated after “sensing the preparedness” of the Pakistan Navy. 

During the latest standoff, the Indian navy had deployed at least 36 warships which included an INS Vikrant-led Carrier Battle Group including 8 to 10 warships

“Indian Navy’s [aircraft carrier] Vikrant had reached close to Pakistan by 400 nautical miles, but after suffering immense losses inflicted by Paki­stan Air Force and Pakistan Army [in May 10 retaliatory strikes], Vikrant retreated, sensing the preparedness of the Pakistan Navy to respond vigorously,” Sharif said. 

India’s navy is believed to hold significant advantage over Pakistan’s, boasting a larger fleet and more diverse capabilities. India’s navy includes aircraft carriers, destroyers, and a substantial submarine fleet, allowing it to project power beyond regional waters, whereas Pakistan’s navy is primarily focused on coastal defense in the Arabian Sea. 

India’s navy comprises over 293 vessels, including two aircraft carriers, 13 destroyers, and 18 submarines, making it a “blue-water” navy with the ability to operate in global maritime zones. INS Vikramaditya and INS Vikrant give India the capability for air power projection and anti-ship operations. 

Pakistan’s navy operates 121 ships, with no aircraft carriers or destroyers.