Is China worried about Pakistan flirting with US? Defence minister Khawaja Asif responds

Khawaja Asif was asked if Pakistan’s close relationship with Trump through mineral deals, crypto deals and more could jeopardise the relationship with China.

Pakistan defence minister Khawaja Asif has said China is not worried about Pakistan “flirting” with the US, a day after the US President hosted Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and army chief Asim Munir at the White House. He noted that China and Pakistan have a time-tested partnership.

In an interview with British American Journalist, Mehdi Hasan, Asif was asked about the ties Pakistan has with China and the United States. Further, citing the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Hasan noted that Pakistan has sourced around 80 % of its weapons from China over the past four years.

Asif was then asked if Pakistan’s close relationship with Trump through mineral deals, crypto deals and more could jeopardise the relationship with China. Replying to this, he said that they are not worried about it, calling it a time-tested relationship’ between Pakistan and China. “Ill just conclude it by saying that China is not worried about our flirtations or whatever you call it, he added.

Asif was also asked, with whom Pakistan sees its strategic future, the US or China. He said that today and in the future, China has been a very reliable provider of arms of all kinds. He also said that their Air Force, Submarines and planes are from China, and a major portion of the country’s arms are from China, with increasing defence cooperation.

“It is much more robust than before, with China... the main reason is unreliability of other sources like the United States of America, he said further. Aif also emphasised that China is a reliable neighbour with whom Pakistan shares a border.

The interview covered several topics, including the Saudi-Pakistan Pact, the imprisonment of former PM Imran Khan, and Pakistans relationship with the United States. Talking about their relationship with the USA and China, Asif said that their relationship is “transactional or a flirtatious relationship” with the United States for a very long time. The Pakistan defence minister further noted that as flirty as Pakistan is with the US, China was, and will continue to be, Pakistans top ally. “Theyre reliable, and they are our neighbours,” he said further.

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