Is China a Loyal Ally of Pakistan ?
Abstract
Is China a Loyal Ally of Pakistan ? SAGE Publications, Inc.1974DOI: 10.1177/000944557401000403 Mira Sinha THE EVENTS OF 1971, encompassing the Indo-Soviet treaty, the Indo-Pakistan war and the emergence of Bangladesh, have led to the unfolding of a new and intimate phase in Sino.Pakistan relations. Mr. Bhutto's visit to China in January 1972 provided a convenient beginning for this new phase, and the war of 1971 provided the rationale for it, if one was required. Thereafter, Pakistan appears to have consulted with China at every decisive phase in the slow process of normalizing the post-1971 situation in South Asia. The new intimacy is informal in the sense that it is not sanctioned or governed by any formal treaty of friendship or alliance. China preferred, as Mr. Bhutto said on his return, to build on an under. standing rather than to rely on what might prove to be a mere scrap of paper. This understanding was shored up at several levels : diplomatic, political, economic and, perhaps, even military. Reports of Chinese military aid to Pakistan since 1971 have yet to be substantiated as to the extent of it. But all this only serves to highlight China's deep and continuing