Islamabad, August 13: Pakistan's relation with China is not hidden from the world. According to a recent report by Fobes, Pakistan Navy recently parked its submarine in the middle of Chinese warship visiting Karachi, a clear sign that Pakistan is ramping up its naval fleet with help from China. China-Pakistan Economic Corridor Will Be 'Trillion Dollar Blunder', Say Experts.
The presence of Agosta-90B type Pakistani submarine, locally known as Hashmat-class, is evident in commercial satellite imagery shared by Forbes. Currently, Pakistan is adding eight China-made Type-039B Yuan Class warships to its fleet, and the spotting of the submarine is a clear indication that two navies are sharing knowledge and hardware.
In January this year, the Chinese and Pakistani naval ships conducted a joint exercise, called "Sea Guardian-2020". Parking the submarine in the middle suggests that the visitors were invited aboard.
During the time of Joint Navy Exercise, Pakistan's The Nation had reported about the involvement of Pakistani warships and other military equipment such as missile boats, anti-submarine aircraft, etc. However, details about submarines were kept hidden. Similarly, China's South China Morning Post mentioned that submarines were involved but did not provide any details.
Pakistan operates five French-designed Agosta class submarines. of which, three are enhanced version with AIP (Air independent Power), which was spotted near the Chinese vessels.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 13, 2020 08:12 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).