ISLAMABAD: China and Pakistan are conducting joint air force exercises in the southern desert of Pakistan near the border with India, seen as sending a message to a country that both have tense relations with.
The joint air force exercise "Shaheen (Eagle)-IX" started on Wednesday in the Sindh province with a contingent of China's People's Liberation Army Air Force and will last until the end of the month, the Pakistan Air Force said in a statement.
Defence officials said the exercises were meant to improve the actual level of combat training while providing an opportunity to further enhance interoperability of both the air forces and bolster their relations.
Shaheen-IX is the ninth in the series of annual Joint Air Exercises held in both countries on alternate basis.
The exercise come barely a week after Chinese Defence Minister Gen Wei Fenghe visited Pakistan and signed a memorandum of understanding for deepening military cooperation.
China has sent aircraft that include its fourth generation Shenyang J-11 air superiority fighters and Chengu J-10 multipurpose jets.
Pakistan is using a mix of Chinese-made Chengdu F-7 interceptors, French Mirage 5 attack fighters and the new multipurpose JF-17 Thunder that was jointly produced by the two countries.
According to a Nikkei Asia report, Pakistan's air force, which comprises a mix of US, French and Chinese hardware, has become increasingly more reliant on Beijing.
Rivals Pakistan and India, both nuclear-armed, have fought wars and engaged in frequent border skirmishes, with tensions especially high in the disputed region of Kashmir.
India and China, have clashed in the Himalayas this year, which saw 20 Indian army personnel and an unknown number of Chinese casualties.
India recently hosted the massive Malabar 2020 naval exercise with the US, Japan and Australia, that revitalised the "Quad," – a loose body consisting of the four countries.
The Quad is now viewed as a democratic bulwark against China's growing assertiveness in the Asia-Pacific.
India has also signed a series of security agreements, ranging from intelligence sharing to logistical support, with its Quad partners.
Meanwhile, Beijing and Islamabad have been strengthening their relationship, and the hallmark of their closeness is the China Pakistan Economic Corridor, or CPEC, a US$60 billion dollar communications, energy and infrastructure project to connect western China to the Arabian Sea and the Persian Gulf through ports and pipelines.
CPEC, considered a flagship project of China's Belt & Road initiative, is protected and led by elements of the Pakistani military.
The Pakistanis, meanwhile, have their own concerns about the increasing closeness of Washington and New Delhi, which they insist is shifting the balance of power in the region, as well as triggering an arms race.
"Considering the recently signed intelligence agreements between the Indians and the Americans, and also the recent clashes between the Chinese and Indian armies in the Himalayas, this is an important time and space for the exercise," a senior Pakistani military officer told Nikkei.
The Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement on Geospatial Cooperation signed in October between the US and India allows New Delhi access to American satellite intelligence for better weapons accuracy.
"The satellite-intelligence sharing agreement is going to give India clear insight about what we are doing and how we are positioned," the officer said.
"The Indians are never going to attack China. They're going to attack Pakistan. With this exercise, we send a clear message to India. We have friends too," the officer said.
As it inches closer to China, Pakistan's military still wants to maintain cordial ties with the US, with which it has often partnered since joining the US-led alliance against the Soviet Union during the Cold War.
It was an arrangement that helped it gain Washington's favour and benefits for decades.