Light weight combat aircraft FC­1 Xiaolong to be mass produced

BEIJING: The mass production of a jointly developed multi-role combat jet and a wide array of missiles in Pakistan was on the agenda for meetings of the SinoPakistani military top brass in Beijing on Thursday, experts said.

AP FILEA Pakistani­made Shaheen­III missile on display during a military parade in Islamabad.

The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) topped the agenda, with both countries vowing to protect the $46-billion project by increasing security along its route and strengthening manpower.

A top Chinese official said the CPEC will be made into a “landmark” project.

Pakistan Army chief, Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa, held separate meetings with Gen Fan Changlong, vice chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC) that is headed by President XI Jinping, and Fang Fenghui, chief of the Joint Staff Department under the CMC.

Li Zuocheng, commander of the People’s Liberation Army, and Shao Yuanming, deputy chief of the Joint Staff Department, also attended the meetings.

Besides military officials, Bajwa met vice-premier Zhang Gaoli, a member of the elite Standing Committee of the Communist Party’s Politburo.

Song Zhongping, a military expert who served in the Second Artillery Corps (now known as the PLA Rocket Force), said: “Weapon exchanges, including the mass production of FC-1 Xiaolong, a lightweight and multi-role combat aircraft developed jointly by the two countries, will be furthered after the meeting.”

Song told the nationalistic Global Times tabloid: “China’s authorisation to Pakistan to produce ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, anti-aircraft missiles, anti-ship missiles and main battle tanks in Pakistan is also on the agenda.”

China’s foreign ministry played down the reports, saying defence cooperation with Pakistan was “normal”.

“China and Pakistan maintain normal defence exchanges and relevant cooperation,” foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told a regular news briefing.

Referring to the joint production of aircraft and missiles, Hua said: “from the news release, we didn’t see anything on an agreement on ballistic missile.”