China will soon be delivering eight submarines, the deal which had been struck earlier, to Pakistan. The delivery is expected to tilt the balance of power in the Indian Ocean.
Reports in the Chinese state media and the military’s official website quoted China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation chairman Hu Wenming as confirming the submarine deal, which had been in the pipeline for long.
India currently has 16 submarines, Pakistan has 10. With the additional eight submarines, Pakistan will have more submarines in its waters than India.
Earlier it was reported that the deal came at a time when military cooperation between Pakistan and the US has taken a nosedive. US lawmakers had blocked a move to subsidise the sale of eight F-16 jets because of concerns that Pakistan was not doing enough to combat terrorism.
Along with the submarines, China will also be giving Pakistan anti-submarine warfare (ASW) helicopters, missile boats, corvettes, surface-to-air missiles, and combat aerial drones. The ASW helicopters are able to detect and hunt down enemy submarines hidden underwater.
China, which is Pakistan’s largest supplier of military hardware, is expected to provide a long-term loan at a low-interest rate for the submarine deal worth between $4 billion and $5 billion.
China is also building Pakistan a forward operating base at Gwadar Port in Pakistan’s Balochistan. And setting up a VLF (very low frequency) communication station at Karachi port. The VLF station is expected to help Pakistan communicate with its submarines.
India is currently building six Scorpene-class submarines.
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