China sells its advanced combat ship to Pakistan

China handed over an advanced warship to Pakistan. The warship is the largest China has built for any country so far. It is going to strengthen the Naval regiment of Pakistan as well as deepen the military and strategic ties between the world’s topmost and fifth-most populous country. China will present three more of such kinds of warships to the Pakistan Navy which is expected to happen by 2021.

About the warship

• Type 054A/P is a guided missile frigate. It was one of the main warships of the People’s Liberation Army Navy.
• It is equipped with the modern surface, subsurface, and anti-air weapons and sensors.

How will it help Pakistan?

Apart from China’s advanced warship, Pakistan is on its way to commission new corvettes from Turkey and OPV imported from Netherlands. It is also on its way to strengthen the submarine force. It is going to help Pakistan to face the challenges in the Indian Ocean region.

India’s stance

• India has been closely monitoring the military ally between its two belligerent neighbours.
• India is currently under stress due to LAC dispute with China, ceasefire violation by Pakistan, and boundary controversy with Nepal.
• India is looking forward to creating an ally with Japan and Australia to launch a trilateral Supply Chain Resilience Initiative (SCRI) to counter the dependency on China.

Month: Current Affairs - August, 2020