BEIJING – In an unprecedented deal, China has sold Pakistan a powerfultracking system which could speed up the development of multi-warheadmissiles by its all-weather ally, the state-run Chinese Academy of Sciences(CAS) said.
*‘Pair of eyes’*
Zheng Mengwei, a researcher with the CAS Institute of Optics andElectronics in Chengdu, Sichuan province, confirmed to the HongKong-based *SouthChina Morning Post* that Pakistan had bought a highly sophisticated,large-scale optical tracking and measurement system from China.
“We simply gave them a pair of eyes. They can use them to look at whateverthey want to see, even the Moon,” he said.
Mr. Zheng said he could not elaborate on the technology nor where inPakistan it was being used as it involved the country’s defence interests.
He, however, said that the Pakistani military recently deployed theChinese-made system “at a firing range” for use in testing and developingnew missiles.
China was the first country to export such sensitive equipment to Pakistan,the CAS said.
The Post report attributed the sale of the equipment to Pakistan to Indiatesting the most advanced nuclear-ready intercontinental ballistic missile(ICBM) Agni-V with a range long enough to hit Beijing or Shanghai.
Chinese authorities declassified information about the sale of the trackingsystem on Wednesday.
The Chinese team which took the tracking system to Pakistan enjoyed VIPtreatment during the nearly three months stay to assemble and calibrate itand training technical staff, the CAS statement said.
“The system’s performance surpassed the user’s expectations,” it said,adding that it was considerably more complex than Pakistan’s home-madesystems.