Chinaware that props up Pakistan in conflict

It was widely known that China has emerged as the key supplier of weaponry for its iron brother Pakistan over the past decade, accounting for over 80% of the country's military imports currently.

- Sutirtho Patranobis

But the first outing for some of these weapons came this week, in strikes and counter-strikes carried out by India and Pakistan.

Pakistan's armed forces used, for the first time, the Chinese-made J-10C fighter jet and PL-15 missile.

Military ties between Beijing and Islamabad have grown since the early 1960s, at a slow pace initially but rapidly in the last decade or so. Defence cooperation is now a key component of the "China-Pakistan All-Weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership".

The two sides underscored that strategic defence and security cooperation between China and Pakistan plays an irreplaceable and critical role in maintaining peace, stability and strategic balance in the region. The two sides expressed satisfaction that the two militaries have long enjoyed a high level of mutual trust, high-level cooperation, and high-level coordination.

The two sides agreed to maintain the momentum of high-level military-to-military visits and exchanges, and to continuously elevate cooperation in areas of joint training, exercises and military technology," a joint statement issued after Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari's visit to China in February said.