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Posted by admin in China, CHINA -PAKISTAN FRIENDSHIP, CHINA SHINING, China- Global Security, China-Pakistan Friendship & Brotherhood, Foreign Policy on April 26th, 2015
Now how do you top this as a geopolitical entrance? Eight JF-17 Thunder fighter jets escorting Chinese President Xi Jinping on BOARD an Air China Boeing as he enters Pakistani air space. And these JF-17s are built as a China-Pakistan joint project.
Silk Road? Better yet; silk skyway.
Just to drive the point home – and into everyone’s homes – a LITTLE further, Xi penned a column widely distributed to Pakistani media before his first overseas trip in 2015.
He stressed, “We need to form a ‘1+4′ cooperation structure with the Economic Corridor at the CENTER and the Gwadar Port, energy, infrastructure and industrial cooperation being the four key areas to drive development across Pakistan and deliver tangible benefits to its people.”
Quick translation: China is bringing Pakistan into the massive New Silk Road(s) project with a bang.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry, also on cue, stressed that Pakistan would be in the frontline to benefit from the $40 billion Silk Road Fund, which will help to finance the Silk Road Economic Belt and Maritime Silk Road projects; or, in Chinese jargon, “One Belt, One Road”, that maze of roads, high-speed rail, ports, pipelines and fiber optics networks bound to turbo-charge China’s LINKS to Europe through Russia, Central Asia and the Indian Ocean.
The Silk Road Fund will disburse funds in parallel with the new Asian Infrastructure INVESTMENT BANK (AIIB), which has already enticed no less than 57 countries. China’s assistant foreign minister, Liu Jianchao, has not delved into detailed numbers, but he assures China “stands ready to provide financing.”
So no wonder Pakistani media was elated. A consensus is also fast emerging that China is becoming “Pakistan’s most important ally” from either West or East.
Beijing’s CAREFULLY calibrated commercial offensive mixing Chinese leadership concepts such as harmonious society and Chinese dream with a “win-win” neighborhood policy seduces by the numbers alone: $46 billion in investment in Pakistan ($11 billion in infrastructure, $35 billion in energy), compared to a U.S. Congress’s $7.5 billion program that’s been in place since 2008.
The meat of the matter is that Washington’s “help” to Islamabad is enveloped in outdated weapons systems, while Beijing is investing in stuff that actually benefits people in Pakistan; think of $15.5 billion in coal, wind, solar and hydro energy projects bound to come ONLINE by 2017, or a $44 million optical fiber cable linking China and Pakistan.
According to the Center for Global Development, between 2002 and 2009 no less than 70% of U.S. aid was about “security” – related to the never-ending GWOT (global war on terror). As a Pakistani analyst wrote me, “just compare Xi’s vision for his neighbors and the history of AMERICA in Latin America. It is like the difference between heaven and hell.”
That “X” factor
At the heart of the action is the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), whose embryo had already been discussed when Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif visited Beijing in the summer of 2013. The economic corridor, across 3,000 km, will LINK the port of Gwadar, in the Arabian Sea, not far from the Iranian border, with China’s Xinjiang.
China is already in Gwadar; China Overseas Port Holding Company is operating it for two years now, after helping to build the first phase. Gwadar formally opens before the end of the month, but a first-class highway and railway linking it to the rest of Pakistan still need to be built (mostly by Chinese companies), not to mention an international airport, SCHEDULED to open by 2017.
All this action implies a frenzy of Chinese workers building roads, railways – and power plants. Their security must be assured. And that means solving the “X” factor; “X” as in Xinjiang, China’s vast far west, home to only 22 million people including plenty of disgruntled Uyghurs.
Beijing-based analyst Gabriele Battaglia has detailed how Xinjiang has been addressed according to the new guiding principle of President Xi’s ethnic policy. The key idea, says Battaglia, is to manage the ethnic conflict between Han Chinese and Uyghurs by applying the so-called three “J”: jiaowang, jiaoliu, jiaorong, that is, “inter-ethnic contact”, “exchange” and “mixage”.
Yet what is essentially a push towards assimilation coupled with some economic incentives is far from assured success; after all the bulk of Xinjiang’s day-to-day policy is conducted by unprepared Han cadres who tend to view most Uyghurs as “terrorists”.
Many of these cadres identify any separatist stirring in Xinjiang as CIA-provoked, which is not totally true. There is an extreme Uyghur minority which actually entered Wahhabi-driven jihadism (I met some of them in Masoud’s prisons in the Panjshir valley before 9/11) and has gone to fight everywhere from Chechnya to Syria. But what the overwhelming majority really wants is an economic shot at the Chinese dream.
The Pakistani counterpart to Xinjiang is Balochistan, inhabited by a little over 6 million people. There have been at least three different separatist factions/movements in Balochistan fighting Islamabad and what they call “Punjabis” with a vengeance. Former provincial minister Jaffar Khan Mandokhel, for instance, is already warning there will be a “strong reaction” across Balochistan to changes in the corridor’s routes, which, he says, “are meant to give maximum benefit to Punjab, which is already considered the privileged province.” Islamabad denies any changes.
The corridor is also bound to bypass most of the key, northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Opposition political star Imran Khan – whose party is on top in Khyber – has already condemned it as an injustice.
Beijing, for its part, has been very explicit to Islamabad; the Pakistani Taliban must be defeated, or at least appeased. That explains why since June 2014 the Pakistani army has been involved in a huge aerial bombing campaign – Zarb-e Azb – againt the Haqqani network and other hardcore tribals. The Pakistani army has already set up a special division to take care of the corridor, including nine battalions and the proverbial paramilitary forces. None of this though is a guarantee of success.
Karakoram or bust
It will be absolutely fascinating to watch how China and Pakistan, simultaneously, may be able to keep the peace in both Xinjiang and Balochistan to assure booming trade along the corridor. Geographicaly though, this all makes perfect sense.
Xinjiang is closer to the Arabian Sea than Shanghai. Shanghai is twice more distant from Urumqi than Karachi. So no wonder Beijing thinks of Pakistan as a sort of Hong Kong West, as I examined in some detail here.
This is also a microcosm of East and South Asia integration, and even Greater Asia integration, if we include China, Iran, Afghanistan, and even Myanmar.
The spectacular Karakoram highway, from Kashgar to Islamabad, a feat of engineering completed by the Chinese working alongside the Pakistan Army Corps of engineers, will be upgraded, and extended all the way to Gwadar. A railway will also be built. And in the near future, yet another key Pipelineistan stretch.
Pipelineistan is linked to the corridor also in the form of the Iran-Pakistan (IP) gas pipeline, which Beijing will help Islamabad to finish to the tune of $2 billion, after successive U.S. administrations relentlessly tried to derail it. The geopolitical dividends of China blessing a steel umbilical cord between Iran and Pakistan are of course priceless.
The end result is that early in the 2020s China will be connected in multiple ways practically with the mouth of the Persian Gulf. Large swathes of massive China-Europe trade will be able to avoid the Strait of Malacca. China will be turbo-charging trade with the Middle East and Africa. China-bound Middle East oil will be offloaded at Gwadar and transported to Xinjiang via Balochistan – before a pipeline is finished. And Pakistan will profit from more energy, infrastructure and transit trade.
Talk about a “win-win”. And that’s not even accounting for China’s thirst for gold. Balochistan is awash with gold, and there have been new discoveries in Punjab.
New Silk Road action is nothing short than frantic. The Bank of China is already channeling $62 billion of its immense foreign exchange reserves to three policy banks supporting New Silk Road(s) projects; $32 billion to China Development Bank (CDB) and $30 billion to Export-Import Bank of China (EXIM). The Agricultural Development Bank of China (ADBC) will also get its share.
And it’s not only Pakistan; the five Central Asian “stans” – rich in oil, gas, coal, agricultural land, gold, copper, uranium – are also targeted.
There’s a new highway from Kashgar to Osh, in Kyrgyzstan, and a new railway between Urumqi and Almaty, in Kazakhstan. We may be a long way away from the new high-speed Silk Rail, but trade between, for instance, the megacities of Chongqing or Chengdu in Sichuan with Germany now moves in only 20 days; that’s 15 days less than the sea route.
So it’s no wonder a “special leading group” was set up by Beijing to oversee everything going on in the One Road, One Belt galaxy. The crucial action plan is here. Those who’re about to go silk, we salute you.
Posted by admin in Afghanistan Hell, Afghanistan-Hell for Western Troops, Afghanistan-Land of Backstabbers, CHINA -PAKISTAN FRIENDSHIP, China- Global Security, China-Pakistan Friendship & Brotherhood, CIA AGENT NAWAZ SHARIF, CORRUPTION OF SHAHBAZ SHARIF, CORRUPTION-PAKISTAN SUPREME COURT, COWARD OF KARGIL NAWAZ SHARIF on February 17th, 2015
Pakistan and Afghanistan have traditionally had a complicated relationship characterized by mutual suspicion. Northern Alliance heavy Afghan regime under Hamid Karzai had remained heavily tilted towards India and had not only given high preference to India in her internal and external matters but also had adopted a hostile policy towards Pakistan. With the blessing of Washington, Karzai had given full liberty of action to India to emerge as the key country in Afghanistan and to fill up the security vacuum after withdrawal of ISAF. After signing strategic partnership agreement with India, Karzai allowed Indian military to train Afghan Army officers in their military institutions and meet Afghanistan’s defence needs. India took advantage of it and besides consolidating her hold in Afghanistan; she made full use of Afghan soil to foment insurgencies in FATA and Balochistan. India was content that this arrangement would continue under weak unity regime as well because of Dr. Abdullah. In 2014, a stage was being set to induct Indian military into Afghanistan. The US-India-Karzai led Afghan regime remained a close-knit team and remained focused towards destabilization of Pakistan. Equilibrium between the three strategic partners remained steadfast for 13 years, but with Ashraf Ghani taking over power, and the US military quitting Afghanistan after failing to defeat the Taliban, the balance got disturbed and gave birth to new equation in November 2014. Pakistan, which remained the whipping boy all these years, has replaced the most favored India. Suspicion and distrust piled up for over a decade has been replaced with goodwill, cooperation and sharing. Blame-game has almost ceased and the gap in trust bridged in the wake of ominous threats from the Taliban and other armed militant groups. China, Kabul and Washington seem to have put their faith in Gen Raheel Sharif and see him as the sole silver lining in the otherwise dark horizon. The trio is looking towards Pakistan Army to help in defeating terrorism and bringing peace in war torn region. Pakistan has long been blamed for harboring and abetting Haqqani network (HN) in its cross-border terrorism. Pakistan military had its own socio-politico-security compulsions to maintain a difference between good and bad Taliban and to target anti-Pakistan militants only. These compulsions restrained Pakistan from launching a military operation in North Waziristan (NW). The concerns were however pushed aside after the gruesome attack on Army Public School in Peshawar on December 16, 2016. A change in the outlook of new National Unity Regime under President Ashraf Ghani and CEO Dr. Abdullah and also in the thinking of Washington towards Pakistan has occurred essentially because of the across-the-board military operation in NW in which all militant groups based in NW were targeted. Uprooting of HN and Gul Bahadur groups from NW and comprehensive briefings given by Gen Raheel Sharif in GHQ to visiting President Ghani and his military team led by ANA chief Gen Sher M. Karimi, to ISAF Commander Gen Campbell, to US military officials in Pentagon and to British top officials made the difference. The other reason of extension of whole-hearted cooperation by Kabul is Pakistan’s declared stance that it has no favorites and that it would fully support Afghan led/owned reconciliation process. One more reason is Pakistan’s relatively better clout over Taliban and its critical support in a patch up. More so, it has been accepted by all and sundry that Pak Army is the only one which can fight and win battles against ideologically motivated militants. In order to reciprocate Pakistan’s laudable efforts in war on terror, while the US declared Mullah Fazlullah as the global terrorist, ANA launched an operation in Kunar against Fazlullah’s men. Five culprits having linkage with Peshawar incident have been arrested on the pointing of ISI. ANA managed to destroy some hideouts and inflicted casualties on TTP men but in the process lost over fifty soldiers. CIA operated drones are at times targeting militant hideouts in inaccessible areas in Shawal Range and along Pak-Afghan border. Both the US and China look positively and receptively towards the fast growing relationship between Pakistan and Afghanistan and see it as a healthy development. While China has agreed to take active part in bringing peace in Afghanistan, the US has finally acknowledged the importance of Pakistan and is cooperating. Pak-US relations that were downhill are once again moving uphill. At the recently concluded Beijing Conference Ashraf Ghani defined five circles manifesting Afghanistan’s future foreign policy. He placed Pakistan in Ist circle (immediate six neighbors) and 2nd circle (Islamic World) and India in 4th circle (Asia). This is indeed a huge shift in thinking of Afghan leadership. What it implies is that Afghan top leadership has consented to prefer Pakistan over India. For a change, the US has readily reconciled with changed priorities of new regime without any ifs and buts. Kabul dropped another bombshell on India by declining her military aid and training assistance, and to rub salt on her wounds asked Pakistan to train Afghan officers. For the first time 16 Afghan cadets are receiving training in PMA Kakul. To add to India’s woes, Ghani made it clear that he will not allow Afghan soil for proxy war against any neighbor. He further distressed India by inviting Pakistan to host the next ‘Heart of Asia’ Conference, which earlier on was scheduled to be hosted by India. Pakistan’s reservations on use of its trade route by India from Wagah to Afghanistan have been accepted by Afghanistan, USA and China. On the military front, bilateral visits of senior military leaders and top intelligence personnel have recently increased. Gen Raheel and Corps Commanders 11 Corps and Southern Command undertook trips to Kabul. DG ISI Lt Gen Rizwan Akhtar visited Kabul thrice. Militaries and intelligence agencies of both sides are carrying out intimate coordination to manage the porous border, training matters, intelligence sharing and also taking care of each other’s security concerns. Military commanders and security officials are now regularly consulting to mutually share intelligence and coordinate security operations. Joint border control centres at Torkham and Spin Boldak have been revived to coordinate operations against the militants and share intelligence on illegal cross-border movement. The US has reconciled to the emerging changes in Afghanistan not by choice but because it has been forced by circumstances. To compensate its natural ally and strategic partner India, Obama undertook a second trip to India and skipped Pakistan. Besides removing the irritants in Indo-US nuclear agreement signed in 2008, and signing another 10 year defence pact, the visitor made the old promise of helping India to earn a permanent berth in UNSC and also elbowed India to become a leading partner in Asia-Pacific Coalition to counter China. Following conclusions can be drawn from the emerging scenario:- • Afghanistan and its immediate neighbors have come on one page to establish regional peace and usher in prosperity in this war torn region and to keep out chief trouble maker India. • Pakistan’s foreign policy has come out of its traditional apologetic and defensive policy and Gen Raheel Sharif has played a key role in making it slightly pro-active by showing the real face of India to governments of Afghanistan, US and UK. • Although Pakistan has been preferred over India by Ashraf Ghani, India which by now has penetrated in every department of Afghanistan including Army and intelligence agencies will continue with its dirty work of keeping Pak-Afghan relations tense in pursuit of its regional ambitions. • Irrespective of the US apparent affability towards Pakistan, India will continue to remain its strategic partner and Pakistan a tactical partner to serve its short term goals. • Genuine peace in Afghanistan will return once all foreign troops go home, Indian interference is curtailed, and Taliban agree to share power.
The writer is a retired Brig, war veteran/defence analyst/columnist/author of five books, Director Measac Research Centre. [email protected]
Posted by admin in CHINA -PAKISTAN FRIENDSHIP, China- Global Security, China-Pakistan Friendship & Brotherhood, DEFENCE OF PAKISTAN, Defence Technology on November 14th, 2013
Hangor (Daphne) Submarine
Hashmat (Agosta 70) Submarine
Khalid (Agosta 90B) Submarine
The Pakistan Navy operates a fleet of five diesel-electric submarines and three MG110 miniature submarines (SSI).[1] Although these vessels are currently based at Karachi, it is possible that in the future some may also be based at Port Ormara.[2] The nucleus of the fleet comprises two Agosta-70 boats and three modern Agosta-90B submarines, all of Frenchdesign. Pakistan’s third Agosta-90B, the S 139 Hamza, was constructed indigenously and features the DCNS MESMA (Module d’EnergieSous-Marin Autonome) air-independent propulsion system (AIP). The two earlier Agosta-90B vessels will be retrofitted with the MESMA AIP propulsion system during their next major overhaul. [21]
Submarine Tables for Pakistan
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The Agosta-90B Hamza (Khalid-class) was constructed at the Karachi Shipyard and Engineering Works (KSEW).[3] Pakistani officials and media outlets extolled the accomplishment, treating the indigenous submarine’s 26 September 2008 commissioning as a significant step in the enhancement of the country’s naval capabilities vis-à-vis India.[4,5,6] It is the first conventional submarine in the Indian Ocean to feature the AIP system (in this case a 200KW liquid oxygen MESMA AIP), which allows the vessel to increase its submerged endurance for up to 3 weeks and improves its stealth characteristics.[13, 15, 16]
During the 1971 war between India and Pakistan, India effectively blockaded the port of Karachi, Pakistan’s only major harbor. In response, Islamabad was able to curtail India’s naval supremacy only through the use of its submarine force, which sank one Indian frigate.[7] Drawing on these experiences and the perceived threat posed by a larger Indian Navy, Pakistan has been continuously investing in its submarine force, within the constraints posed by its economy.
An effective sea-denial capability is vital to Pakistan. Foreign trade is increasingly important to the country’s economy, best illustrated by a trade to GDP ratio of 36.0 percent in 2007-2008.[8] Given that over 95 percent of this trade is seaborne, the Pakistan Navy and its submarine fleet is charged with protecting the country’s sea lanes of communication (SLOC).
Developments in India’s naval infrastructure and force posture significantly inform Pakistan’s own naval planning. In February 2001, the Pakistan Navy publicly considered the deployment of nuclear weapons aboard its submarines, arguing that it had to keep pace with developments in India.[9] Islamabad later rescinded its statement in January 2003, reaffirming Pakistan’s commitment to a “minimum credible deterrence.”[10] However, in the wake of India’s short-range Agni-I test that month, then Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Shahid Karimullah left the option open, saying that while the country had no plans to deploy nuclear weapons on their submarines, they would do so only if “forced to.”[11,12] But most experts agree that Pakistan is, at the very least, attempting to develop a sea-based version of the indigenously built nuclear capable ground-launched cruise missile ’Babur’. [13] This missile is similar in design to the American Tomahawk and Russian KH-55 cruise missiles.[14]
In an attempt to further improve its naval capabilities, Pakistan has also been negotiating with Germany’s ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) about the possible acquisition of three diesel-electric Type 214 submarines equipped with an AIP system based on fuel cell technology. Discussions regarding the deal have been taking place since 2004, but due to political developments in Pakistan as well as Germany, it has been repeatedly delayed. [17] In November 2009, the German Ambassador to Pakistan announced that a final decision would be made soon. [18] Parallel to the negotiations with TKMS, France has also been attempting to sell its Scorpene-class submarines to Pakistan. [19, 20]
Sources:
[1] “Chapter Seven: Central and South Asia Caribbean and Latin America”, The Military Balance 2009, International Institute of Strategic Studies, Routledge, 2009.
[2] Interview with Vice Adm. Clees van Duyvendijk, Commander in Chief RNN, “Navy Chiefs of Staff on MCM and minelaying,” Naval Forces, 2001, Vol. 22, No. 3, pp. 62-68; in ProQuest Information and Learning Company, http://proquest.umi.com.
[3] The Royal Institute of Naval Architects, Karachi Shipyard and Engineering Works retrieved on 28 January 2010 from www.rina.org.uk.
[4] “Pakistan navy inducts new submarine”, Associated Press of Pakistan, 27 September 2008; in Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe, http://web.lexis-nexis.com.
[5] “India submarine ‘threatens peace’”, BBC News, 28 July 2009, http://news.bbc.co.uk.
[6] “Pakistan on verge of selecting HDW submarine”, Jane’s Defence Weekly, 2 December 2008, www.janes.com.
[7] “Bangladeshi War of Independence: Indo-Pakistani War of 1971″, GlobalSecurity.Org, www.globalsecurity.org.
[8] “Economic Survey 2008-2009″, Ministry of Finance, Government of Pakistan, www.finance.gov.pk.
[9] “Pakistan may install nuclear missiles on its subs”, Los Angeles Times, 23 February 2001, www.latimes.com.
[10] “Pakistan to retain minimum nuclear deterrence, PM says”, The News, 07 January 2003; in Lexis-Nexis, http://web.lexis-nexis.com.
[11] Catherine Philp, “India stokes the fires with new missile test”, The Times, 10 January 2003, www.timesonline.co.uk.
[12] “Pakistan navy chief denies plan to equip submarines with nuclear warheads”, The News, 26 January 2003; in Lexis-Nexis, http://web.lexis-nexis.com.
[13] Feroz Hassan Khan, Pakistan’s Perspective on the Global Elimination of Nuclear Weapons,Report prepared for the Henry L. Stimson Center, April 2009.
[14] Ottfried Nassauer, Deutsche U-Boote fuer Pakistan: Fakten und Gedanken zu einem problematischen Exportvorhaben, Berliner Zentrum fuer Transatlantische Sicherheit, Research Note 8.1 (December 2008).
[15] “Agosta Class,” Jane’s Underwater warfare Systems, 25 September 2009.
[16] “MESMA,” Direction des Constructions Navales Services, September 2008, www.dcnsgroup.com.
[17] Ottfried Nassauer, Deutsche U-Boote fuer Pakistan: Fakten und Gedanken zu einem problematischen Exportvorhaben, Berliner Zentrum fuer Transatlantische Sicherheit, Research Note 8.1 (December 2008).
[18] “German Parliament discussing approval for submarines,” Business Recorder, 11 November 2009.
[19] “U-Boot Deal auf der Kippe,” Der Spiegel, 30 April 2007.
[20] “Poker mit Pakistanern,” Der Spiegel, 13 July 2009.
[21] “Pakistan Submarine Forces,” Jane’s Underwater Warfare Systems, 25 September 2009, www.janes.com.
New-gen submarines: Pakistan steals a march on India
The Tribune, India ^ | January 20,2011 | Ajay Banerjee
Posted on January 22, 2011 8:39:37 PM MST by sukhoi-30mki
New-gen submarines: Pakistan steals a march on India
Signs deal with China to co-produce six subs with the technology that India wants
These could tilt balance in favour of the Pak Navy in Arabian Sea
Ajay Banerjee/TNS
New Delhi, January 20 Even as India has announced its intent to have new generation diesel-electric submarines, Pakistan has gone ahead and signed a deal with long-standing ally China to produce submarines with the same technology that India wants.
The Pakistan Navy and China’s Ship Building Corporation signed a deal that got the seal of finality during the visit of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao to Pakistan last December. Indian security agencies in know of the matter have cautioned the government that this could tilt the balance in favour of the Pakistan Navy in the Arabian Sea.
India is looking to spend Rs 50,000 crore to acquire six new diesel-electric submarines that will be equipped with air-independent propulsion (AIP) technology to boost operational capabilities. Conventional diesel-electric submarines have to surface every couple of days for oxygen to recharge their batteries. A submarine using AIP technology can stay submerged for 12-15 days at a stretch, thus increasing its capacity to hunt down enemy warships without being detected. Nuclear powered submarines can stay underwater for even longer periods.
Under the latest agreement, China will co-produce six AIP technology submarines with Pakistan. Currently, the neighbouring navy has only one submarine — PNS Hamza. Pakistan is also looking at an AIP system produced by a French or German maker to fit on to the Chinese made hull of the vessel, said an official.
What is worrying for India is the known pace of Chinese construction. China could well provide three-four new generation AIP technology submarines to the neigbouring country within two years. The Chinese had supplied four frigates to the Pakistan Navy in 18 months flat! The two nations have also co-produced the single-engine J-17 fighter that was inducted into the Pakistan Air Force last summer.
For India, it could take upto five years to induct its first such submarine, as it will have to go through the process of trying out offers from various global bidders before ordering the vessels.
The Indian Navy has a bigger fleet in terms of number but it is dwindling and will be down to eight conventional diesel-electric vessels by 2015. By then, the first of the six under-construction Scorpene submarines will join the fleet followed by five more till 2018. The AIP technology vessels will follow later. Going by estimates, Pakistan would complete the induction of its fleet of AIP technology vessels by the time India starts off with its line of such submarines.
However, India will maintain its edge over Pakistan in case of nuclear-powered submarines. It hopes to induct the Akula-II Class attack submarine K-152 Nerpa on a 10-year lease from Russia in the next few weeks while the first indigenous nuclear submarine INS Arihant is expected to be inducted by early-2012.
Indian Navy Chief Admiral Nirmal Verma has already declared that nuclear-powered submarine INS Arihant would be on ‘deterrent patrol’ to provide the ability of a retaliatory ‘second strike’ if the country faces a nuclear attack.
What Worries India
The Chinese are known for their pace of construction and could provide three-four new generation submarines to Pakistan within two years.
It could take India upto five years to induct the first of its diesel-electric submarine.
The Indian Navy fleet is dwindling and will be down to eight conventional diesel-electric vessels by 2015.
PTI
After inducting advance fighter jets from China, Pakistan plans to buy six state-of-the-art submarines from the neighbouring country in a bid to boost its under-sea warfare capabilities.
Islamabad is planning to buy six submarines outright with options of joint development of conventional submarines with China, The Express Tribunereported.
The newspaper did not mention the class of submarines being sought by Pakistan saying merely that Islamabad wanted advanced under-sea vessels with air independent propulsion (AIP) system, which would give them capabilities to stay submerged longer and operate noiselessly.
The Defence Ministry has asked the federal Cabinet to approve the purchase of Chinese submarines to counter “emerging threats” faced by Pakistan, the paper said.
Pakistan has a total of five active diesel electric submarines plus three midget submarines. While the three submarines are of German SSK class, Islamabad had recently inducted two French Agosta class ones.
With attempts to acquire AIP technology, Islamabad would be in race with New Delhi, which plans to arm its French Scorpene submarines with the technology but only by 2013.
Pakistan’s Defence Ministry informed the Cabinet that the country’s Navy is facing a “critical force imbalance” in terms of the number of submarines and ships in its fleet.
The “capability gap is widening exponentially with the passage of time”, the report said.
The Navy plans to acquire the six AIP conventional submarines that can operate in a “multi-threat environment under tropical conditions” and are capable of launching torpedoes and missiles, theBusiness Recorder daily quoted official documents as saying.
A protocol for joint development and co-production of submarines by the Pakistan Navy and China Shipbuilding and Offshore Corporation will be signed shortly after approval by the federal Cabinet, the paper said.
In view of “urgent naval requirements”, the issue of acquiring Chinese submarines was part of the talking points for President Asif Ali Zardari’s visit to China in 2009, media reports said.
The matter was also discussed during Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao’s visit to Pakistan in December 2010, the reports said.
The Cabinet has been told that Naval Headquarters had pursued the purchase of submarines with Chinese authorities, who have assured Pakistan of their “firm support” for the submarine project.
Under the proposed protocol, four submarines will be constructed at a Chinese shipyard and the remaining two in Pakistan.
Co-development and production will include joint development, training of Pakistani personnel, upgrades of Pakistan Navy’s shipyard and other related aspects.
Pakistan is in the process of inducting 36 J-10 fighter aircraft from China in a deal worth more than $1.4 billion, with options open for induction of more similar aircraft.
Islamabad and Beijing are also collaborating to build an advanced fighter — JF-17 or ‘Thunder’.
Keywords: Pakistan Navy, under-sea vessels, air independent propulsion, SSK class, Scorpene
Pakistan Navy’s AMAN Excercise Participants
Posted by Dr. Salman in China- Global Security on July 4th, 2013
The state of Sino-U.S. ties will be decided by the U.S., because China has always maintained a constructive attitude and is committed to preserving a positive, cooperative and comprehensive relationship in the 21st century, Major General Luo Yuan told China.org.cn on during the CPPCC session.
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Major General Luo Yuan, deputy secretary general of the China Society of Military Science and a member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) [Zhang Ming’ai/China.org.cn] |
China will not change its policy towards the U.S. as its national power grows, said Luo, who is deputy secretary general of the China Society of Military Science and a member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference. China’s traditional culture and national character emphasize modesty and prudence, and China will neither seek hegemony, nor pose a threat to the United States, he added.
“We are very clear about our realities,” said Luo. “I have visited former revolutionary base areas in remote and border areas and found that people there are still living in poverty.” He said that as a visiting scholar abroad he saw quite clearly that China still lags far behind western countries. Those who see China as a threat to the United States and believe that China is competing for world leadership with the U.S. should go to western China and have a close look at how people live there, Luo said.
Well-informed Americans understand that China is not capable of posing a threat to the United States, Luo said. “Those who say China is a threat to the U.S. are just playing the ‘China card’ to achieve other goals, such as increased military spending, shifting the public’s attention from domestic issues and avoiding blame at home, or forming alliances with other counties.”
According to the Major General, there is no country in the world capable of constituting a military threat to the United States. “China has never sent surveillance aircraft and ships to the U.S. East Coast or West Coast, but the U.S. regularly carries out surveillance activities in the South China Sea and East China Sea.” Those who know China understand that China neither wants to nor has the power to pose a threat to the U.S., Luo added. “The China threat theory is utterly absurd.”
But Americans who know little about China see China as a monster because China is a socialist country led by a communist party, said Luo. They believe there is a structural conflict between China and U.S. Moreover, they don’t believe China can develop peacefully without seeking hegemony, because there is no precedent. Previously all big powers achieved their goals through waging wars or pillaging.
When asked how to enhance mutual trust between China and the U.S., Luo said China should address American doubts and explain its military strategy to the world, as well as demonstrating by its actions that it is pursuing peaceful development.
Is the U.S. encircling China?
During her visit to the Asia Pacific last October, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton claimed that the U.S. was not seeking to contain China.
But the U.S. has strengthened its military cooperation with Taiwan; it has also enhanced ties with its five military allies in the Asia-Pacific region, and its alliances with Japan, S. Korea and Philippines cover both the South China Sea and the East China Sea. It has gained access to military bases in many South Asian countries and has built a strategic partnership with India; it has also built a dozen military bases in Central Asia under the pretext of fighting terrorism. The U.S. has also tried to woo Mongolia, Luo said.
Is the U.S. encircling China? Please take a look around China, Luo said. “The U.S. constantly urges China to increase transparency in its military strategy. We would also like them to explain to us their military intentions.”
Americans believe that their values are best and they are determined to spread them across the world and maintain their dominant position in the world. Because China’s social system, ideology and cultural traditions differ from theirs, they are unwilling to allow China to fully integrate into the international community, but they cannot ignore 5000 years of Chinese civilization, Luo said.
Three barriers to Sino-U.S. military ties
Major General Luo said that China has made great efforts to develop sound and stable military ties with the United States: China publishes a defense white paper every two years and has participated in the UN Military Budget Transparency Mechanism and the Conventional Weapons Registration System. China has also invited many U.S. high ranking military officials to visit China, including Robert Gates, who visited the Second Artillery Force of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) during his recent China tour.
But three issues still hamper Sino-U.S. military relations: arms sales to Taiwan; frequent reconnaissance missions by U.S. ships and aircraft in China’s waters and airspace; and U.S. legislative limits on military exchanges with China, Major General Luo said. The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2010 and the Delay Amendment set restrictions on military exchanges with China in 12 areas.
Sino-U.S. relations in 2011
Luo said Sino-U.S. relationship should improve and develop smoothly this year as the U.S. has just held mid-term elections and the general elections are some time off. But accidental factors could not be avoided, such as the Taiwan issue and the Korean Peninsula issue, Major General Luo said. “If the U.S. sells F-16 CD fighter aircraft to Taiwan, it will definitely harm Sino-U.S. relations.”
Reference
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