By Mashal Khan

ISLAMABAD (TSAT) - Pakistan Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa said that China is a very important neighbor of Pakistan who helped his country in many ways.

Speaking at Islamabad Security Dialogue, Gen. Bajwa said that their military cooperation with China is growing because they were denied equipment from the West.

“China of course is a very important neighbor and has helped us in many ways. Our military cooperation with China is growing because we are denied equipment from the West. Many of the deals which were concluded have been canceled. So what do we do,” Pakistan Army chief questioned.

Giving an example of western countries’ behavior he said Pakistan bought T129 helicopters from Turkey, which is a very good machine, the deal was signed, it's a defensive weapon, it's a gunship but the engine was of American origin so the Americans refused to give the third-party certification.

Responding to a question about how he would see security cooperation with China progressing in the next decade, he said due to western countries’ refusal Pakistan had no other option but either to wait or go somewhere else; either go to Russia or go to China.

“We are not looking for camp politics,” Gen, Bajwa clarified and said they had historically excellent relations with the US.

“The good army we have today is largely built and trained by the US. The best equipment we have is American equipment. We still have deep cooperation with the US and our Western friends. A month back American Air Force was here for a huge exercise with our Air Force,” he explained.

However, Pakistan will prefer to maintain balanced and mutually beneficial relations. He asserted “When the submarines were ready, Germans refused to give us the engines. France has done the same of course under Indian pressure because India is a big buyer. So what do you do?,” he added.

“It is your responsibility to maintain the balance. If you are tilted towards one side outrightly, we'll find sources from where we can get weapons to save ourselves,” said the Pakistani army chief.

Without naming the US, Gen. Bajwa said that his country was their ally for a very long time as Pakistan was part of SEATO, CENTO & Baghdad Pact and they supported them in Vietnam and Afghanistan.

“We helped you dismantle the erstwhile Soviet Union and the muck you created yesterday we are trying to clean that. So we have paid a lot of cost. What are you doing about us? I must ask you the question. Are you maintaining a balanced approach or not,” he indirectly questioned from Washington.

“You need to carry out introspection, whether your policy is right or not,” he further said.

Talking about the multi-billion China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), he said that it's a very important project.

“There was a problem in Pakistan that we had a shortage of electricity. No body was coming forward because there was lot of terrorism so Chinese stepped forward and they took the risk and they built these plants,” he recalled.

“But it doesn't mean that Pakistan is a no-go area, if you feel that there is too much of a Chinese influence in Pakistan, the only way to counter is by bringing in the counter investment. Who stops you?,” the Pakistani army chief questioned those who are criticizing the CPEC.

He added that Pakistan welcomes any investment from abroad as few days back Berrick Gold has signed the deal in which they are going to explore a huge copper mine in Pakistan.

“Berrick Gold is a Canadian company, the Canadian Ambassador is sitting here. So we will welcome investment and cooperation from the entire world,” he maintained.