By Our Staff Reporter
Islamabad: Pakistan – China’s defense relations are turning a new chapter with the launch of the first Type-054 class frigate ship.
China has launched first of the four advanced naval warships it is building for Pakistan, amid deepening economic and defense ties between the two all-weather allies.
The launching ceremony for the first warship was held at the Hudong Zhonghua Shipyard in Shanghai on Sunday.
Pakistan-China defense ties turn a new chapter with the launch of the first ship of Type-054 class frigate, Pakistan’s state-run APP news agency reported.
The Type-054 class, equipped with the latest surface, subsurface, anti-air weapons, combat management system and sensors will be one of the technologically advanced surface platforms of the Pakistan Navy fleet, the report said.
The Type 054A frigate is a class of Chinese multi-role frigates, the first of which entered service with the People’s Liberation Army Navy Surface Force in 2007. It is a development of the Type 054 frigate, using the same hull but with improved sensors and weapons.
Pakistan signed a contract with the China Shipbuilding Trading Company Ltd (CSTC) for the delivery of two Type-054 A/P frigates in 2017. Last year, the Chinese official media reported that under a major arms deal between the two all-weather allies, China would build four advanced frigates for Pakistan Navy.
The terms of the deal and the price of the ships were not revealed.
The launch of the ship coincided with the 2nd strategic dialog between Foreign Minister Wang Yi of China and his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mahmood Qureshi conducted on 21 August at the Chinese holiday resort in Hainan.
Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Qureshi said Monday in Islamabad that China and Pakistan were strategic allies.
He said the cooperative relationship between Pakistan and China was an answer to objections regarding the ambitious USD 60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
Addressing to the media upon his return from China, Qureshi said Pakistan and China were pursuing the initiative, and their implementation speed would increase and benefit the whole country.
The CPEC, which connects Gwadar Port in Pakistan’s Balochistan with China’s Xinjiang Province, is the flagship project of China’s ambitious multi-billion dollar Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
The BRI was launched by Chinese President Xi Jinping when he came to power in 2013. It aims to link Southeast Asia, Central Asia, the Gulf region, Africa and Europe with a network of land and sea routes.It is seen as an attempt by China to further its influence abroad with infrastructure projects funded by Chinese investments all over the world.