Pakistan's military ties with Myanmar

The visit preceded a 20-day training of some Myanmar police officers, scheduled in Karachi from September 10.

While the unexpected scheduling of the visit did raise a few eyebrows in the region, there is a rising concern that the defense relations between the two countries have been initiated not on their own accord, but at the behest of China. It is believed that in the backdrop of Pakistan-China alliance, Islamabad is expecting deeper cooperation with Beijing in terms of sub-warfare equipment development, letting Pakistan do maintenance and overhaul for Chinese origin equipment, and more importantly, let Pakistani’s Defense industries become an avenue for Chinese defense sales.

The defence ties between Pakistan and China has broader implications in context of the aforementioned Myanmar visit. The relations between Pakistan and Myanmar have been lukewarm for around half a decade over the issue of violence against Rohingyas in Myanmar, more so due to allegations that Pakistan is arming and training some of the ethnic community members.

Given these uncertainties, the trepidation regarding this sudden warming of relations does seem valid. Complicating the situation is the Chinese involvement in the defence trade among some countries in South Asia.

For China, using Pakistan as a gateway not only enables it to export its military products without needing to reflect it in its ledgers, but also helps its access markets that may be averse to China itself.