July 3, 2009: China is taking great interest in the war between the Taliban and the Pakistani army. That's because the Pakistani army is largely Chinese equipped. The Chinese are particularly keen to see how their armored vehicles perform. It's already been noted that the Chinese Type 59 tank was vulnerable to RPG attack. Pakistani armor units did not have some kind of screen (or "slat armor" as the Americans call it) affixed to the side to the tanks, where the armor is quite thin.

China will also be interested in seeing how the entire range of Chinese weapons and equipment perform in combat. Chinese gear has not gotten a real (in combat) workout in several decades, and the manufacturers are eager to see what worked, and what has to be modified.