Before reading this article, I sincerely invite you to click the "Follow" button, so that you can continue to push such articles in the future, and it is also convenient for you to discuss and share, your support is the driving force for us to insist on creating~
文|Severn
Edit|S
In March last year, China and Pakistan signed a contract for the purchase and sale of J-10CE fighters, which caused an uproar in the international community.
The world is not only surprised that China exports the current advanced fighters abroad, but also shocked by the ultra-low average price of 56 million US dollars for the J-10CE!
However, China's export of J-10CE to Pakistan at a very preferential price is only a microcosm of China's arms sales to Pakistan.
Pakistan is always the first to buy warships, submarines, missiles, helicopter gunships, and other advanced weapons that are on China's arms sales list.
However, North Korea, which is also friendly with China, has rarely made arms sales to China.
Why, then, is China willing to sell advanced weapons to Pakistan but not North Korea?
Arms sales differences
China's large-scale arms sales to Pakistan began in the 80s of the last century.
In the decade from 1980 to 1990 alone, China exported 138 J-5 attack aircraft and 20 J-7M fighters to the Pakistani Railway Brothers.
Conventional ground weapons such as Type 59 tanks, Type 63 armored vehicles, and Type 59-1 cannons are not known to have been transported.
Since the beginning of the new century, with the continuous development of China's military technology, more and more advanced weapons have been sold to Pakistan.
In June 2015, China signed a contract with the Pakistan Maritime Safety Authority (PASA) to export six patrol boats to Pakistan.
In July of the same year, with the agreement reached between China and Pakistan on the arms sales of eight Yuan-class conventional submarines, the largest arms sales contract in China's history was born.
It is reported that the total value of this contract is 4 billion to 5 billion US dollars.
However, these arms sales are only the tip of the iceberg of China's assistance to Pakistan.
Submarines of the "Yuan" class
The variety and quantity of weapons China exports to Pakistan were evident in the 2016 Pakistan military parade.
On March 23, 2016, Pakistan's National Day military parade kicked off.
The parade officially began after the fighter planes pulled smoke through the field.
What makes people very excited is that most of the Air Force fighter formations responsible for the "opening" are from China, such as J-7PG, J-7P, and JF-17 Thunderbolt (Thunder).
In addition, the ZDK-03 early warning aircraft, the Z-10 armed helicopter, and the K-8 trainer aircraft developed by China are also in the ranks of the air show team or the review team.
In terms of ground equipment, Chinese-style weapons have become the absolute main force of this military parade.
The MBT-2000 developed by China North Industries Corporation is Pakistan's most high-end main battle tank, and its performance is higher than that of the Russian-made T-90 main battle tank assembled by the Indian Army.
MBT-2000 tank
In addition, a large number of Chinese-made missiles appeared at the parade, the most notable of which was the FM-90 short-range missile.
The missile is an improved version of the Hongqi-7 missile, with a maximum range of up to 12 kilometers, which can not only deal with fighters, but also intercept the enemy's cruise missiles, and is a key weapon in the Pakistani army's air defense system.
In addition to the weapons that appeared at the parade, Pakistan also had a large number of Chinese-made equipment that was not fully displayed, such as drones, shoulder-fired portable missiles, and so on.
It can be said that China has already supported Pakistan's national defense.
As Chinese netizens lamented: "The Pakistani army is about to become the second PLA force!"
Last year, China made a big move, exporting dozens of J-10CEs to Pakistan at an average price of $56 million.
FM-90 missiles
You must know that at present, the J-10CE is still one of the main forces of the Chinese Air Force, and the model was only publicly unveiled in Dubai in 2019.
Its performance, combat capability, and various carrying systems are all in the advanced category.
China's export of advanced fighters in service to Pakistan at such a low price is enough to see the close friendship between China and Pakistan.
In contrast to Pakistan, however, North Korea, a close neighbor that is also friendly with China, has never enjoyed such treatment.
There is very little news of arms sales between China and the DPRK, let alone the export of heavy national defense weapons such as fighter planes, submarines, and warships to the DPRK, and even general ground weapons, and the two countries rarely cooperate.
At present, the hot discussion about arms sales between China and the DPRK is "If China sells Type 03 rocket artillery to the DPRK, how much will it strengthen the DPRK Army?"
Why, then, is China willing to export so many advanced weapons to Pakistan in a big way, but rarely cooperate with North Korea in arms sales?
A product of geopolitics
First of all, China's vigorous military assistance to Pakistan is a product of South Asian geopolitics.
India is an important factor that cannot be avoided in exploring China-Pakistan friendship and the development of China-Pakistan relations.
After Khrushchev came to power in 1960, Sino-Soviet relations began to deteriorate, and the Soviet Union tried to use India to contain China and contain its development.
At the same time, China has long had bad relations with the United States because of its "one-sided policy."
During this period, the United States and the Soviet Union stood behind India at the same time, providing weapons and material assistance to India, and instructing India to provoke border conflicts.
China and India have become rivals from close allies before and after World War II, and China-India relations have ushered in a cold period.
After independence, India enshrined the idea of hegemonism as a diplomatic norm and repeatedly provoked wars in South Asia.
In 1949, he took control of Bhutan's national defense, in 1962 he brazenly invaded Chinese territory, and in 1965 he started the Second Indo-Pakistani War...
These conflicts all show that India has become one of the biggest factors of instability in South Asia and even in Asia.
Sino-Indian War
In order to guard against India's intrusion on mainland territory, China can only seek the help of its allies in South Asia.
Pakistan, which has always been at odds with India, has naturally become the mainland's primary target.
In the face of India, a common enemy, China and Pakistan began to establish a strong friendship.
However, there is a huge disparity between the national strength of India and Pakistan, and Pakistan is at a huge disadvantage.
Around 2000, Pakistan's economy was on the verge of bankruptcy, with an external debt of $41.9 billion.
On the other hand, since the economic reform in 1991, India's economic development has been rapidly on the right track, with GDP growth maintaining above 6% and its comprehensive national strength increasing.
In terms of population, India and Pakistan are 1.2 billion to 200 million, 3.2 million square kilometers to 880,000 square kilometers in terms of land area, $42 billion to $5.7 billion in defense spending, and 1.3 million to 590,000 in military strength.
No matter which angle you compare, India has an absolute advantage.
And India, with the help of the United States, is widening the gap between the two.
Compared with India, China and Pakistan are both weaker in South Asia, although China is stable over India in terms of economic, military, and comprehensive national strength.
But after all, China and South Asia are separated by the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and it is difficult for China's influence to be fully projected into South Asia.
If you want to counter Indian hegemony, joining forces with Pakistan has become an inevitable choice.
As a result, China has launched all-round support for Pakistan for half a century.
Among them, military assistance is the top priority.
In 2015, China exported eight submarines to India to counter India's new Scorpene-class submarines purchased from France.
In 2022, China and Pakistan signed contracts for the purchase and sale of dozens of J-10CEs, also because India purchased dozens of Rafale fighters from France.
Helping Pakistan achieve a military balance with India is the main reason why China has vigorously provided military aid to Pakistan's Tietie brothers.
North Korea, on the other hand, does not have such geopolitical concerns.
There are factors of instability in North Korea
It is true that the relations between China and the DPRK are equally friendly, and there are also irreconcilable geopolitical contradictions between the DPRK and the ROK.
But from a military point of view, North Korea is not a geopolitical disadvantage.
In terms of military hard power, North Korea's military strength is clearly stronger than South Korea's.
In terms of troops, North Korea has 1.06 million active troops and 4.7 million reserves, while South Korea has only 670,000 troops.
North Korea's military strength is 1.6 times that of South Korea, and its weaponry is twice that of South Korea.
The DPRK armed forces are composed of five major parts: the navy, land and air force, artillery, and special forces.
Among these arms, there is something that the South Koreans and even the US military are very afraid of, and that is the DPRK's Strategic Missile Forces.
According to estimates in the Western world, North Korea's most advanced missiles have a range of more than 6,700 kilometers.
According to public information, the maximum range of the missiles that North Korea has completed deployment can reach 3,200 kilometers, and the total number of missiles of various types has reached 800, which means that South Korea and Japan are within the range of North Korea's strategic missile strikes.
What makes South Koreans even more palpitating is that North Korea already has at least 2-9 nuclear weapons, which is an important reason why the United States does not dare to set foot on the Korean Peninsula easily.
In addition, the North Korean military is completely in the hands of the national leader, while the operational command of South Korea is limited to the US military.
In the event of a conflict between the DPRK and the ROK, no one can guarantee whether the Americans will be able to absolutely support the ROK in the game and checks and balances of all parties, and this is equivalent to weakening the ROK's military strength in disguise.
Therefore, in the military comparison between the DPRK and the ROK, the DPRK undoubtedly occupies a greater advantage.
In this way, China naturally does not need to help North Korea as much as it did with Pakistan.
Moreover, North Korea is different from Pakistan.
Of all the arms sellers to China at present, Pakistan is undoubtedly the most treated.
Every time China launches a new weapon to the market, Pakistan is always the first to obtain the right to buy it, and even wins all the "Asian sales agency rights."
The reason why China trusts the Pakistani brothers so much is because they are more cautious and trustworthy.
The Pakistani people respect China and will consider China's interests before acting.
Therefore, even if China exports advanced J-10CE fighters to Pakistan, there is no need to worry about the loss of technology and attracting imitations from other countries, but North Korea is not necessarily.
North Korea has imported Chinese missile boats in the past, but has violated an agreement between the two countries by copying them and selling them to the Middle East, squeezing out the Chinese market.
On issues involving China's interests and friendship, the Pakistani people will never let us down, but the DPRK has upheld the attitude of "nothing to do with itself."
Of course, there is nothing that North Korea has done that China fears more than insisting on developing nuclear weapons.
The development of nuclear weapons on China's doorstep would have undermined the friendship between China and the DPRK.
With this in mind, it is natural that China will not send warplanes, submarines, and other heavy weapons of a major country to North Korea.
epilogue
China's military assistance to Pakistan is not only due to geo-military needs, but also because the Pakistani brothers deserve our help.
Whether it is a fighter plane or a submarine, the Pakistani people have won it with their own performance and attitude.
As for North Korea, not to mention that its military strength is not weaker than that of South Korea.
Given its attitude toward China, it would be difficult for China to trust North Korea even if it faced the same situation as Pakistan.
Resources
- China Aviation Industry Corporation equipment unveiled in Pakistan's National Day military parade[J].China Equipment Engineering,2017(08):2.)
- Lan Zhouda,Kuang Yujun.China-Pakistan military-technical cooperation from the perspective of geopolitics[J].National Defense Science and Technology,2014,35(05):86-90+96.
- Chen Yue.Comparison of military strength between the DPRK and South Korea: the south wind overpowers the north wind or the north wind overpowers the south wind[J].World Knowledge,2016(10):26-27.