China backs Pakistan’s call for “thorough investigation” into missile incident

Beijing calls on ‘relevant countries’ to have dialogue and communication

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian. File | Photo Credit: AP

The Chinese Government on Monday appeared to back Pakistan’s call for a “thorough investigation” into the accidental firing of a missile by India that ended up in Pakistan.

China’s Foreign Ministry, responding to a question from Pakistani media about the incident, said it “called on relevant countries to have dialogue and communication as soon as possible and launch a thorough investigation into this incident, strengthen information–sharing and establish a notification mechanism in time to ensure the non-recurrence of such incidents and prevent miscalculation.”

The statement indicated China wanted both “relevant countries” to not only “have dialogue” but “launch a thorough investigation”. Pakistan on Saturday called for a joint probe and said India’s Court of Inquiry was “not sufficient since the missile ended up in Pakistani territory”. 

“Pakistan and India are both important countries in South Asia and they share responsibility to uphold regional security and stability,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said. 

India’s Ministry of Defence said a “technical malfunction led to the accidental firing of a missile” during routine maintenance and the Government of India had taken a “serious view” and ordered a high–level Court of Inquiry into the “deeply regrettable” incident.