 |
| Zulfiquar-class frigate (Image: Wiki Commons) |
By Ankit Panda
For the first time, the two “all weather” partners hold a naval exercise in the East China Sea.
The Pakistani Navy and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army-Navy (PLAN) have concluded their first-ever exercise in the East China Sea. The exercise, which took place from December 31, 2015 to January 1, 2016, was part of a seven-day visit to Shanghai by a Pakistani naval taskforce consisting of a frigate and a supply ship. According to the Chinese defense ministry, the exercise included a joint drill focused on ship formation movement, search and rescue, and live-fire exercises striking aerial and sea targets. The exercise also included an anti-piracy component and, according to a CCTV report, an anti-submarine warfare component.
According to the Chinese Ministry of Defense, the Pakistani taskforce was headed by Commodore Bilal Abdul Nadir, who heads the 25th Destroyer Flotilla of the Pakistani Navy. The two ships that participated in the exercise included the PNS Shamsheer, the second of Pakistan’s four Zulfiquar-class frigates, and a 25-ton supply ship, the Nasr. On the PLAN’s part, at least two missile frigates participated in the exercises — most likely, two of the PLAN East Sea fleet’s four Jiangkai-II-class frigates. Nadir, in an interview with the Global Times, a Chinese state-run newspaper, described the exercises as “very significant,” noting that they would “enhance the interoperability and cohesion between the two navies.”
Read the full story at The Diplomat