ISLAMABAD, 5 April 2005 — China will build four F-22P frigates for Pakistan Navy and transfer technology under an agreement inked yesterday.
“Pakistan and China have signed four contracts for the construction of four F-22P frigate ships for Pakistan Navy,” a Defense Ministry statement said.
“These F-22P frigates will be equipped with organic helicopters specially designed for anti-submarine warfare, surface-to-surface and surface-to-air missiles along with numerous associated self-defense systems,” the statement said.
“These ships, after construction, will be inducted into Pakistan Navy which would not only enhance the operational capabilities of Pakistan Navy, but will also make impregnable the seaward defense of Pakistan,” it said.
The signing ceremony of the agreement was held in Ministry of Defense Production in Rawalpindi. Federal Secretary of Defense Production Lt. Gen. (Retd.) Ali Mohammed Jan Orakzai and China’s Director General of International Cooperation Zhou Wushent signed the deal.
The statement said China will sell the boats on the basis of “transfer of technology.” A navy official said that the term means that some of the ships will be made in Pakistan.
A date for delivery of the ships was not given, nor did the ministry say how much Pakistan will pay for the ships.
Adm. Shahid Karimullah, the chief of the Pakistan Navy, said last year that Pakistan was seeking a $750 million loan from China to pay for the frigates.
China is one of Pakistan’s main suppliers of defense equipment. The long-standing cooperation between the two countries includes Chinese assistance in building tanks for Pakistan’s army as well as a nuclear power plant.
Many Chinese companies operate in Pakistan and China is involved in the construction of a deep-sea port at Gwadar on the Arabian Sea.
The deal for warships between Pakistan and China came a day ahead of a three-day visit to Pakistan by Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao, and follows an announcement by Washington last week that the United States will give Islamabad the sophisticated F-16 fighter planes, in a move widely regarded as a reward for the Muslim nation’s close cooperation in the US-led war on terror.
Wen will also attend a conference for promoting economic cooperation in Asia and hold talks on the sidelines with Pakistani leaders.
Wen will visit Pakistan from today through Thursday, then spend one day in Bangladesh, another day in Sri Lanka, before heading to India on April 9 for four days.
Wen’s visit will “further enhance the all weather and time tested friendship and strategic partnership between Pakistan and China,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Jalil Abbas Jilani said yesterday at a news briefing.
The visit underlines China’s growing recognition of South Asia as a key area in its foreign policy initiatives, especially as Washington puts emphasis on strengthening ties with New Delhi, analysts said.
“China seems continually worried about being contained by the United States,” said Brad Glosserman, director of research for the Hawaii-based think tank Pacific Forum CSIS.
“China is concerned and they’re working to develop positive relations with these countries. They assume at some point there will be some competition between China and the US for pre-eminence in the region.”
