Pakistan commissioned two multi-role naval frigates from China on Wednesday, marking the completion of a four-warship agreement signed between the two countries in 2018.
Pakistan’s navy chief Admiral Muhammad Amjad Khan Niazi said the induction of the new frigates—PNS Tippu Sultan and PNS Shahjahan—”ushers a new chapter in the Pakistan-China friendship.”
“The same is manifested in our defense collaborations,” Niazi said during the induction ceremony at Hudong Zhonghua Shipyard Shanghai in China, according to the Pakistan Navy’s statement.
The contract for four Chinese-built Type 054 A/P warships was signed between the two countries in 2018. Pakistan received the first frigate, PNS Tughril, in 2021 and the second one PNS Taimur last year.
China also delivered J-10C aircraft to Pakistan in March last year.
According to the Pakistan Navy, the 4,000-ton frigates are “technologically advanced” and equipped with surface-to-surface, land attack, surface-to-air and underwater firepower. They were built to “engage in multiple naval operations to counter maritime threats,” it stated.
“These ships will provide deterrence and a mean for averting threats in our region while contributing towards the protection of Sea Lines of Communications (SLOCS),” the Pakistan Navy stated.
Pakistan also signed an agreement with China last year to build eight Hangor-class submarines equipped with modern weapons and sensors. The submarines are expected to be completed by 2028.
The ceremony came just days after Niazi held talks with Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu in Beijing on May 8.
China-Pakistan-Afghanistan Talks
Economic ties between the two nations have also deepened in recent years. Chinese leader Xi Jinping had pledged to support Pakistan in stabilizing its financial situation and inject “new impetus” into their strategic partnership.
On May 6, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang met with his Pakistani counterpart, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, and Afghanistan Taliban’s acting foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi in Islamabad to discuss trilateral cooperation.
Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari (R) addresses a joint press conference with his Chinese counterpart Qin Gang at the foreign ministry in Islamabad on May 6, 2023. (STR/AFP via Getty Images)
Afghanistan and Pakistan both pledged to promote trilateral ties with China in politics, security, and economy in order to safeguard their common interests and “achieve mutual benefits and win-win results.”
They agreed to support the extension of the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) to Afghanistan and pledged to promote connectivity between their countries.
The CPEC is part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, started by Xi in 2013. China has invested over $62 billion in infrastructure under the CPEC, including the construction of Pakistan’s deep-water port in Gwadar, that triggered massive protests in November 2021.
The Taliban, which took power in Afghanistan after the U.S. troop withdrawal from the country in 2021, hasn’t been recognized as a legitimate regime by any nation, including China and Pakistan.
K. Siddhartha, a strategic thinker and Earth scientist, told The Epoch Times that China’s moves in Afghanistan are propelled by the growing needs of the Chinese economy for minerals and raw materials.
“Afghanistan’s geology has helped it to be a reservoir of minerals; it’s a different matter that the Afghans have not used it, nor will they,” said Siddhartha, a former adviser to multiple countries.
Venus Upadhayaya contributed to this report.