Pakistan navy to add advanced Chinese submarines

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Navy will be getting a fleet of advanced Chinese submarines, a statement from the military and a government official said on Thursday, a move to strengthen Islamabad’s maritime security as part of a growing defense cooperation with Beijing.
The subs are in addition to Chinese-made J10-C fighter jets, which were war-tested for the first ‌time during ‌last year’s Pakistan-India conflict.
Pakistan and China are ‌longtime ⁠allies and their ⁠defense cooperation has been enhanced since the conflict erupted.
Islamabad says the Chinese-made planes were part of its air assault that downed India’s French-made Rafale fighter jets last summer.
A ceremony to commission the first of the submarines, which will be called Hangor, was held in ⁠Sanya, China, with Pakistani President Asif Ali ‌Zardari and naval chief ‌Admiral Naveed Ashraf in attendance, the military statement said.
It didn’t ‌mention the number of submarines involved or any further ‌details.
A Pakistani government official said the fleet would consist of eight submarines; four would be made in China and delivered to Islamabad, while another four will be made ‌in Pakistan under a transfer-of-technology program.
“We will also be in a position to offer ⁠their exports ⁠under our defense production in future,” he said.
Ashraf called it “an important milestone to bolster our maritime defense and modernize our fleet with cutting-edge technology.”
Hangor class submarines — armed with state-of-the-art weapons, advanced sensors and air-independent propulsion — will be a key to preserving maritime order and stability in the region and play a role in deterring aggression, Ashraf said.
The news on the submarines came after Pakistan tested a number of missiles in recent weeks.
Pakistan and India have fought three wars since their independence from British rule in 1947.

Pakistan navy to add advanced Chinese submarines