Pakistan takes steps to strengthen
its navy By Federico Bordonaro
The Pakistani navy recently assumed the
command of the Coalition Maritime Security
Campaign (CMSC) in the Persian Gulf region, making
Pakistan the first country outside the North
Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to lead such a
cooperative effort against terrorism. Considering
that the Pakistani naval forces are bound to
receive more international attention because of
this high-profile mission, it is worth making an
assessment of their most recent developments.
Pakistan's navy currently has about 24,000
servicemen, manning
about 50 vessels. The largest
are the eight frigates of British lineage and five
submarines.
The navy is supplementing the
aging frigates with vessels of Chinese design.
Last month Islamabad finalized a deal with China
for the the local construction of a new F-22P
frigate. The warship will be the fourth of this
type provided by Beijing, according to a previous
agreement reached last year. The latter also
confirmed China's strong commitment to support
Islamabad's navy through technology transfer and a
deal to provide several Z-9C maritime helicopters.
At a time when India is beefing up its
fleet (see Indian navy on the crest of a
wave, Asia Times Online, June 18,
2005), Pakistan is upgrading its naval forces to
achieve three vital goals: first, to improve and
modernize its hardware and to expand its surface
fleet; second, to shape an aggressive defense
system in the face of India's rising power; and
third, to protect its sea lines of communication
(SLOCs) while at the same time strengthening its
capability of attacking the enemy's.
The
Sino-Pakistani deal is significant both from a
political and a strategic point of view.
Politically, it marks a new stage in a
long-standing strategic partnership, whereby the
two Asian powers recently signed a "Treaty of
Friendship, Cooperation, and Good-Neighborly
Relations". The deal includes the joint production
of the multi-role JF-17 Thunder fighter aircraft
for the air force and also acquisition of a
guided-missile attack craft based on a Chinese
design. In addition, it foresees cooperation in
nuclear-power generation, as well as strategic
infrastructure projects, such as the widening of
the Karakorum Highway.
The new frigates,
derived from China's Jiangwei II class, will have
command-and-control systems and weapons and
sensors specifically modified to suit Pakistan's
needs. Although many analysts highlight how the
Chinese frigates suffer from the lack of a
vertical-launch system of air-defense missiles,
the warships - which serve as patrol combatants -
have both anti-submarine and anti-ship
capabilities as well as a modern radar control
system. Pakistan will thus improve its patrolling
capabilities and augment its existing surface
fleet, as well as its local shipyards' potential
for naval construction.
According to
Jane's Information Group, "three of the vessels
will be built by Hudong Zhonghua Shipbuilding
Group, with keel-laying scheduled for the
Chinese-built lead unit in early 2007 and delivery
planned for 2009"; moreover, "the Chinese company
will also become involved in preparing the Karachi
Shipyard & Engineering Works (KSEW) to build
and deliver the fourth F-22P frigate by 2013".
Pride of the fleet However, the
Pakistani navy's pride remains its submarines. It
has five French diesel-electric subs divided into
two classes, Khalid and Hashmat (Agosta 90b and
70), also produced locally (Pakistan being one of
only a dozen nations capable of building
submarines).
Generally speaking, although
strategy must always be considered in the specific
context of a war, the structure of Pakistan's
maritime forces and its modernization program
suggests they are designed to assure an aggressive
defense against India's navy. In the framework of
a short conventional conflict, submarines can
rapidly inflict massive damage and shock to the
enemy. In addition, they are difficult to
intercept and destroy - barring the option of
nuclear counter-strikes, whose political and
strategic consequences are a separate matter.
The protection of its own coasts and an
effective offensive against the enemy are key to
Pakistan's strategic security. In this sense, the
navy harkens back to memories of the 1965 war and
"Operation Dwarka", the navy's first seaborne
offensive operation (a naval flotilla attacked the
Indian town of Dwarka in an attempt to draw Indian
navy ships out where they could be intercepted by
the submarine PNS Ghazi).
Maritime trade
is obviously vital for both India and Pakistan,
and another important geostrategic mission for
Pakistan's navy is protection of sea lanes. More
than 95% of goods are transported by ships. Sea
trade is a pillar for Islamabad's economy, and the
port of Karachi plays a fundamental role in this.
Clearly, any disruption of the sea lanes, as well
as possible port closures, would deliver a deadly
blow to Pakistan in case of conflict.
According to security analyst Vijay
Sakhuja, "the SLOCs serve as umbilical cords of a
state's economy. They are also referred to as the
arteries of a region's economy. During times of
peace, the SLOCs serve as commercial trade routes,
but during war, these routes are considered
strategic paths."
The navy believes that
the "protection of Pakistan's SLOCs, its
960-kilometer-long coastline and its ports, and
especially the port of Karachi" to be a
fundamental mission: "Barely 150km from the Indian
border, Karachi has the only developed berthing
facilities for handling the bulk of Pakistan's
trade, as well as hosting naval dockyards, repair
and overhauling facilities and the strategic
national petroleum reserves."
In the case
of a conventional conflict with India, one of
Pakistan's main strategic priorities would be
protecting the most critical SLOCs, which for
Islamabad are the maritime routes running from
Karachi to the Persian Gulf, the Suez Canal, East
Africa and the Far East, while quickly delivering
devastating blows to India's traffic routes.
Again, submarines would play a decisive role.
Islamabad finds itself in a difficult
strategic environment. The endurance of the
Islamist radicalism and al-Qaeda's presence in the
regions bordering Afghanistan is causing tension
with Washington and is forcing the administration
of President General Pervez Musharraf to reassess
its national-security strategy. At the same time,
India's rise as a great power means Pakistan
cannot abandon its classical security priority,
that is, to maintain a regional balance of power
with New Delhi. Therefore, strategic cooperation
with China and France to boost its own maritime
power will continue to be in Islamabad's best
interests.
Federico Bordonaro is
senior analyst with the Power and Interest News
Report. He can be contacted at
fbordonaro@pinrNOSPAM.com.
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