In Geopolitics Today - Friday, July 9th
China-Pakistan Relations Deepen and Poland Interested in Large Purchase of M1 Abrams Tanks
China-Pakistan Relations Deepen
The relationship between China and Pakistan appears to be deepening in the increasingly competitive Asia region. Their military and strategic partnership continues to build as Pakistan recently brought into service its first batch of Chinese-built VT-4 tanks.
The Pakistan Armed Forces media team talked up the acquisition by stating that the purchase was “a modern tank integrating advanced armour protection, manoeuvrability, firepower capabilities and state-of-the-art technology.” The sale and induction into active service of these Chinese-made tanks is one way in which the relationship between the two countries continues to deepen.
Similarly, that Pakistan increasingly uses Chinese-made drones is yet another sign of this deepening strategic partnership. China is becoming a major exporter of both civil and combat drones to a number of countries. Pakistan, a regular customer of Chinese arms, has also recently purchased some 50 Wing Loong II drone aircraft.
The drones have been effective tools for the Pakistan military, especially on the border along the Line of Control between India and Pakistan. These latest arms deliveries are a tell-tale sign that a mutual desire exists in both countries to deepen their strategic relationship. For both these countries, the other is a critical security partner and it looks to remain that way in the foreseeable future.
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Poland Interested in Large Purchase of M1 Abrams Tanks
Poland has expressed an interest in a major purchase of American arms. Only two months after announcing its intentions of purchasing 24 Baytaktar TB2 drones from Turkey, Poland is reportedly already making preparations for a purchase of 250 M1 Abrams tanks from the United States.
The Polish Armed Forces are said to be interested in buying around 250 tanks in the variant of M1A2 SEPv3. If the purchases go through, it would greatly improve Poland’s armoured brigade capabilities, as well as introduce considerable modern tank capacities into its ground forces.
Poland has been angling to purchase a new vehicle platform in a bid to gradually replace the country’s Soviet-designed T-72 and PT-91 tanks. And while Warsaw has expressed prior interest in the joint French-German project to build a European tank, the lack of progress in this European initiative has disappointed Polish policymakers. For now, as it has yet to fully replace the many aging Soviet tanks still used by its armed forces, Poland still seeks more modern armoured brigades.
And the United States too has much to gain from the sale of the Abrams tanks. By providing Poland with the M1 Abrams, US arms are exported to an ally and will likely go toward securing NATO’s eastern flank. This would, int turn, helping frontline allies such as Poland acquire modern capabilities and allow it to operate as a powerful force within the NATO structure.
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