Failing Relationship With Us Brings Pak, China Closer

[tom bhayya]

[left][size=3]With deepening of India-United States relationship and deterioration in the ties between Washington and Islamabad, Pakistan is moving closer to China, a Congressional report has said.[/size][/left]
[left][color=#000000][font=arial, verdana, sans-serif, FreeSans][size=3][size=3]"As US-India ties deepen and US-Pakistan ties appear to deteriorate, many observers see Islamabad becoming more reliant than ever on its friendship with Beijing," said the latest report on Pakistan by the independent Congressional Research Service.[/size][/size][/font][/color][/left]
[left][color=#000000][font=arial, verdana, sans-serif, FreeSans][size=3][size=3]"US-Pakistan acrimony in the wake of Osama bin Laden's death appears to have increased Pakistan's reliance on China as a key international ally.[/size][/size][/font][/color][/left]

[size=3]Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani's visit to China in May elicited no major new embrace from Beijing, but the Chinese government did insist that the West "must respect" Pakistan's sovereignty, the report said.[/size]
[size=3]China also agreed to expedite delivery to Pakistan of 50 JF-17 fighter jets equipped with upgraded avionics (Islamabad is also negotiating with Beijing for the purchase of six new submarines for as much as USD 3 billion in what would be the largest-ever bilateral defense purchase.[/size]