China deploys patrol boats on Mekong

Those patrol boats are purposely built for small arms fire-fights – well-protected by 100mm armor plates, fronted by 12.7mm mounts. It is no type 527 riverine but good luck trying to sink it with RPG. (Guess who picks up the tab for those patrol boats?)

Myanmar boarder police

Loas boarder police (nice police camo)

China boarder police

China deploys patrol boats on Mekong: state media
AFPAFP –
http://news.yahoo.com/china-deploys-patrol-boats-mekong-state-media-052210019.html

China's national flag is seen flying from the back of a ship sailing down the Mekong river. China has deployed more than 300 armed police to patrol the river in boats in collaboration with Myanmar, Thailand and Laos after a deadly attack in October, according to state-run media

China's national flag is seen flying from the back of a ship sailing down the Mekong …

China has deployed more than 300 armed police to patrol the Mekong river in boats in collaboration with Myanmar, Thailand and Laos after a deadly attack in October, according to state-run media.

Two months ago, 13 Chinese sailors were killed on a section of the river south of China's border, raising concerns in Beijing for the safety of crews and cargoes sailing south through an area rife with drug warfare and smuggling.

Citing officials, the official China Daily newspaper said that Chinese police would escort 10 private cargo ships, including the boats that were attacked on October 5 by what is thought to have been a drug gang.

"The special force will serve as the first joint-patrol law enforcement team of the national border defense department, committed to safeguarding the international waterway," said public security deputy minister Meng Hongwei.

The Mekong flows through China's southwestern province of Yunnan into Southeast Asia, serving as a major trade route through several countries including Cambodia and Vietnam.

China reacted angrily to the October attack, sending patrol boats down the Mekong to retrieve 164 stranded Chinese sailors and 28 cargo ships and calling on diplomats from Thailand, Laos and Myanmar to speed up investigations.

Since then, police in Thailand have detained nine soldiers who are suspected of killing the Chinese sailors and are also thought to have links with a Myanmar drug kingpin.

Photo of the day: ex-VARYAG returns home after completing her second sea trial

Antarctica chopper down

Antarctic research helicopter crashes
Updated: 2011-12-10 08:33
By Wang Qian (China Daily)
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2011-12/10/content_14243655.htm

Antarctic research helicopter crashes

The Xueying helicopter lies heavily damaged after crashing in Antarctica in the small hours of Friday Beijing time. The two crew members were safely returned to their supporting icebreaker. [Photo / Xinhua]

Both crew members brought to safety; expedition will continue

BEIJING - A helicopter returning from delivering supplies and equipment to the 28th Antarctic research expedition crashed in the small hours of Friday (Beijing time), the State Oceanic Administration (SOA) said. No casualties were reported.

"The crash won't have much effect on the inland scientific expedition at the South Pole, because the delivery of supplies and research equipment there was finished before Wednesday," Qu Tanzhou, director of the Chinese Arctic and Antarctic Administration, said at a news conference on Friday afternoon.

The two crew members in the Xueying - Snow Eagle - were reported to be safe, though one was slightly injured. They were both brought back to the icebreaker Xuelong, Qu said.

The cause of the crash is under investigation and will be released on the SOA's website in a timely manner, he said.

According to the SOA, the pilot lost control of the craft while flying back to the icebreaker, after delivering supplies to China's Zhongshan research station.

The helicopter crashed into an iceberg after an attempted forced landing failed.

The Antarctic expedition is covered by an 80 million yuan ($12.5 million) accidental damage insurance policy with China Pacific Insurance Co Ltd (CPIC). The helicopter is worth $8.5 million, the SOA said.

"The accident investigation and retrieval of the helicopter are urgent," Qu said.

He said they are trying to find the best way to retrieve the craft and bring it back to the icebreaker, to minimize any environmental impact, without jeopardizing the safety of expedition members.

But he expected the work to be difficult because of the extreme weather conditions at the pole.

"The accident's impact on the 28th Antarctic research expedition is being evaluated," Xia Limin, director of the general management department of the Chinese Arctic and Antarctic Administration told China Daily.

Aside from the helicopter, which can carry 5 tons of cargo, the Xuelong has a small plane with a 1-ton capacity.

Xia said remaining supplies and research equipment needed by coastal posts of the expedition can be delivered by the plane or, when the ice melts, by ship.

The accident will not significantly affect the expedition, he added.

The helicopter, bought from Russia in December 2008, began serving Chinese Antarctic expeditions in 2009 and was on its third such mission when the crash occurred.

The SOA held an emergency response meeting on Friday morning to arrange the next step in dealing with the incident.

China Daily

J-7 withdrawn from "front line" service.

This should comes as no surprise as the numbers of J-10 and Su-27/J-11 currently in service are sufficient to cover the slack. That said, it will be years before the current fleet of J-7s can be decommissioned. The J-7 is a short legged point-defense fighter, it should be used as such; deploy them in offensive roles against other 3rd and 4th generations fighters around China seems a bit risky.

中国空军歼7系列战斗机正退出一线作战部署


2011年12月09日 11:06
来源：中国航空报


杨维勤摄

临近年底，位于安徽某地的空军某部加大了训练力度，图为该部队装备的歼7E战斗机双机编队起飞训练。

歼7系列战斗机，曾经是我国空军的主力战斗机型，随着部队装备更新换代的加速，歼7系列战斗机正逐渐退出一线作战部署，其主要作战任务也开始转变。杨维勤摄


http://news.ifeng.com/mil/2/detail_2011_12/09/11216346_0.shtml

New J-7smell! Non-smoker. Very clean interior. Shows great! Aluminum wheels. Great tread! Actual miles. Low Mileage. One owner. Interested??

* it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests

Photo of the day: J-20 after the completion of its 60th known test flight.

with bonus photos of ASM armed FC-1

Beijing’s ‘Starter Carrier’ and Future Steps: Alternatives and Implications

With the ex-VARYAG off to its second sea trial, it is perfect timing for the US Naval War College Review to publish Andrew Erickson, Abraham Denmark, and Gabriel Collins's latest article "Beijing’s ‘Starter Carrier’ and Future Steps: Alternatives and Implications." as its lead article.

The paper is fact based and professional lacking any "hyperventilation." It starts by providing a detailed background on China's aircraft carrier aspiration with charts and diagrams listing major milestones and lead figures involved (eg. Adm Liu Huaqing) up until the first sea trial.

In the second part of the article, it reviews China Navy's doctrines, from "Near Sea" to "Far Sea," in both strategic implications and operational planning (sadly, discussions of blackjack tables and slot machines for this floating casino were excluded).

The third part of the article reviews "hardware" such as carrier born aircraft considerations and "software" such as crew and commanding officers.

The fourth part of the article addresses the implications of having a" starter carrier" to deploy within various scenarios.

In the final part, the authors analyze what is next for China's carrier program and reviews the implications a Chinese carrier program may have on the United States.


From Dr Andrew  Erickson:

“Beijing’s ‘Starter Carrier’ and Future Steps: Alternatives and Implications”–Lead Article in Winter 2012 Naval War College Review
Journal Articles

Andrew S. Erickson, Abraham M. Denmark, and Gabriel Collins, “Beijing’s ‘Starter Carrier’ and Future Steps: Alternatives and Implications,” Naval War College Review, 65.1 (Winter 2012): 14-54.

Just as a newlywed couple wants a “starter home,” a new great power wants a “starter carrier.” China’s navy has finally realized its longtime dream of obtaining an aircraft carrier and sending it to sea. This is the first step in a long journey that will change China’s navy and how it relates to the world.

At 5:40 AM local time on Wednesday, 10 August 2011, more than eighty years after the idea was originally proposed, China’s first carrier disappeared into the fog under tight security from Dalian harbor’s Xianglujiao Port, in northeast Liaoning Province, to begin sea trials in the Bohai and northern Yellow Seas. This was yet another coming-out party for China as a great power on the rise. Upon its launch, the nation burst with patriotic pride over the achievement. Major General Luo Yuan, deputy secretary-general of the China Society of Military Sciences, declared, “Well begun is half done. . . . [T]he effect of having something is completely different from the effect of having nothing.” Plans are under way to commemorate this new era of Chinese sea power, and to boost the economy further in the process. Tianjin, one of the country’s four municipalities, plans to do its part in October 2011 by opening China’s first aircraft carrier–themed hotel, based on Kiev, once the Soviet Pacific Fleet’s flagship and now the centerpiece of the Tianjin Binhai Aircraft Carrier Theme Park. A Chinese flagship as capable as Kiev once was remains far away, but Beijing has taken the first step and is already reaping added influence at home and abroad.

Before foreign strategists start hyperventilating about the “beginning of the end,” however, a deep breath is needed. China’s initial carrier foray followed a six-year refit and lasted only four days. China’s starter carrier—a vessel originally purchased incomplete from Ukraine in 1998—is of very limited military utility; it will serve primarily to confer prestige on a rising great power, help the Chinese military master basic procedures of naval airpower, and project a bit of military power—perhaps especially against the smaller neighbors on the periphery of the South China Sea. This is not the beginning of the end; it is the end of the beginning. To realize its ambitions for the future, China had to start somewhere.

Late in 2010, Admiral Liu Huaqing, the father of China’s modern navy, passed away. Liu had sought to build China’s navy first into a “green water” force and thereafter, eventually, into a “blue water” navy capable of projecting power regionally, though not globally. He insisted that he was not China’s Alfred Thayer Mahan, but his concept of “Near Seas defense” was roughly comparable to Mahan’s views on U.S. naval strategic requirements (i.e., dominance of the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean, Panama, and Hawaii). The key to the realization of Liu’s vision was an aircraft carrier, and Liu reportedly vowed in 1987, “I will not die with my eyes closed if I do not see a Chinese aircraft carrier in front of me.” Admiral Liu’s eyes can close now.

Much of the Asia-Pacific region, as well as the Asia-watching strategic community in the United States, is hotly debating the implications of Chinese aircraft carrier development. Admiral Robert Willard, commander of U.S. Pacific Command, said in April 2011 that he was “not concerned” about China’s first carrier going to sea, but allowed, “Based on the feedback that we received from our partners and allies in the Pacific, I think the change in perception by the region will be significant.” Australian brigadier general John Frewen contends, “The unintended consequences of Chinese carriers pose the greatest threat to regional harmony in the decades ahead.” Former director of Defense Intelligence Headquarters in the Japan Defense Agency Admiral Fumio Ota, JMSDF (Ret.), asserts, “The trials of China’s first aircraft carrier . . . mark the beginning of a major transition in naval doctrine. . . . Aircraft carriers will provide Beijing with tremendous capabilities and flexibility. . . . [A] Chinese carrier could pose a serious threat to Japanese territorial integrity. . . . China’s new aircraft carrier increases its tactical abilities and the chances of a strategic overreach. Other countries in the region should be worried.”

Yet while the Asia-Pacific region is hotly debating the implications of China’s aircraft carrier, there should be little surprise that a Chinese aircraft carrier has finally set sail. Indeed, what is most surprising about China’s aircraft carrier program is that it took this long to come to fruition. Given the discussions about an aircraft carrier that have percolated in China’s strategic community for decades, it should have been clear to the entire region that this was a long time coming. …

You can down load the entire PDF here:

Photos of Admiral Liu Huaqing asking the 6 billion RMB question: How can I get one of those

Rear admiral Yang Yi's latest OpEd.

Rear admiral Yang Yi having a good time at the 2005 U.S.-China Strategic Dialogue

China must have strong navy

(Source: Xinhua) 2011-12-05

The photo taken on Nov. 29, 2011 shows China's aircraft carrier launching its sea trial. (Photo: chinanews.com)

by Yang Yi

BEIJING, Dec. 2 (Xinhuanet) -- China's navy began a drill in West Pacific in late November. On Tuesday, China's aircraft carrier set sail on its second trial run. The two were independent developments, for the aircraft carrier is yet to be commissioned by the navy. But some Western countries have put the two together and began chanting the "Chinese navy threat" slogan all over again.

What they have forgotten is that about 70 percent of the Earth's oceans are international waters, and all countries have equal freedom and rights to navigate and hold military exercises there.

China is a large country with a long coastline. In the past century, the majority of invaders entered China through the seas. For a long time after the founding of New China, the country faced military threats from some big powers and thus had to concentrate its efforts on strengthening its defense on the land borders. Hence, China's navy didn't get the needed attention and lacked an independent strategy, acting as it was in concert with the land and air units in non-amphibious operations.

It was not until the early 1980s, when Liu Huaqing became the commander of China's navy and proposed to work out a naval strategy and later outlined the strategy of offshore defense, that the navy began building its weaponry, holding exercises, training talents and focusing on modernization.

Nevertheless, West-led voices with the United States at the helm, have been criticizing China's military modernization as a "negative variable" and labeling its navy's modernization a threat to regional and international stability. This is ridiculous.

The truth is the increase in China's military spending in recent years has its historical roots and reflects the country's actual need. In the earlier days of reform and opening-up, China prioritized economic development. As a result, national defense didn't get the attention it deserved and its navy lagged behind not only developed countries, but also some small- and medium-sized developing countries.

By increasing its military expenditure in recent years, China has modernized its army to a certain extent. But the armed forces have to be made stronger to safeguard China's national security and protect all its interests. China's navy still lags behind those of the advanced military powers such as the US by 20-30 years.

Despite all this, the West has maintained its high pitch against China as a "military threat". The fact that the global financial crisis has created structural changes in the global strategic layout with China overtaking Japan as the world's second largest economy and expanding its global reach, has made the West cry wolf more loudly.

The China "military threat" theory is simply much ado about nothing. China has developed closer ties with the rest of the world in the 21st century. And since its economic growth depends largely on foreign trade and supply of energy from overseas, it is essential that it develops a strong navy to protect its maritime traffic. Truth be told, the Chinese navy now is not competent enough to fulfill that historical mission.

The lack of aircraft carriers had undermined the competence of China's navy in guarding its shipping routes. China is the only one among the five permanent members of United Nations Security Council that doesn't have an aircraft carrier in service.

With a coastline of 18,000 kilometers and thousands of islands and shipping routes to defend, China has more than enough reason to build its own aircraft carriers, and other countries cannot direct it on the issue.

It is a common practice among countries with coastlines to conduct maritime drills. The US holds dozens of such exercises every year. Plus, it conducts joint war games with its allies. Other major naval powers, too, hold maritime exercises every year. So how come only China's routine naval drills are seen as "threatening"?

The US has established a vast network of military bases across the world. Wherever and whenever there's a conflict, the first question US leaders ask is where their nearest US aircraft carrier is. The US operates its warships worldwide, apparently as deterrence and to portray itself as the champion of freedom of navigation. One wonders what makes the US' navigation justified and China's disturbing.

The Western media allege that China's latest naval exercise in the West Pacific reflects its stance against the deployment of American troops in and around Australia. What they fail to see is that China's naval drill is a routine matter, based on its annual plan, aimed at improving the navy's ocean-going ability, and not targeted against the US or Australia. When will they believe that China is not a threat to any country and has no intention of becoming one?

China will continue to conduct military drills in the West Pacific and other waters to make its navy competent enough to safeguard national security and interests, and to fulfill its international obligations.

China has been reiterating that it wants peaceful development and will continue to have a defensive defense policy. China has no designs to become an expansionist power and will never follow the West's gunboat diplomacy.

China has been sending its navy on convoy missions in the Gulf of Aden and the waters off Somalia since 2008, and has been praised by the international community for that. Having a strong military will only help China make greater contributions to regional and international security, stability and prosperity.

The author is a rear admiral and former director of the Institute for Strategic Studies at the People's Liberation Army National Defense University.

(Source: China Daily)

Editor:Dong Zhaohui

Give him the raspberry

ESMC of PLA reserve force holds first actual-troop drill

(Source: PLA Daily) 2011-12-02

In late November, an electromagnetic spectrum management and control drill in a complex electromagnetic environment was held at the foot of the Yanshan Mountains.

The officers and men participating in this drill are from the mobile monitoring group of the Electromagnetic Spectrum Management Center (ESMC) under the reserve force of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA). This is also the first time for this center to organize the officers and men in the reserve force to carry out an actual-troop and real-equipment drill on the spectrum management and control in a complex electromagnetic environment since its establishment.

Larded with military skill training and ideological and political education, this drill embraces such training subjects as the establishment of fundamental command post, calling-out and assembling of personnel and equipment, urgent setting-up of network of wireless equipment, and direction-finding and positioning of interfering signals.

The ESMC of the PLA reserve force is the PLA’s first organic high-technology reserve unit within the national industrial system. This drill with the actual combat background is an important practice to further promote the demand for the military-civilian integrated development in the field of radio, accumulating experience for the PLA’s wartime capacity for electromagnetic spectrum management and control.

By Xing Jijun and Liu Wanping

Editor:Zhang Qingxia

China Navy, welcomed.

Seychelles invites China to set up anti-piracy base

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hzLeEjtGSSVemRHFDVibF9PygyrQ?docId=CNG.b29b9b135996dff1204f4d15809adf61.611

VICTORIA — The Seychelles on Friday invited Beijing to set up a military base on the archipelago to beef up the fight against piracy there, Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Paul Adam said.

The declaration came as Liang Guanglie is making the first-ever visit by a Chinese defence minister to the Indian Ocean island state.

"We have invited the Chinese government to set up a military presence on Mahe to fight the pirate attacks that the Seychelles face on a regular basis," Adam said.

"For the time being China is studying this possibility because she has economic interests in the region and Beijing is also involved in the fight against piracy," he explained.

General Liang, who arrived in Victoria on Thursday with a 40-strong delegation, had been invited in October by Seychelles President James Michel, when he was on a visit to China.

"Together, we need to increase our surveillance capacity in the Indian Ocean... as Seychelles has a strategic position between Asia and Africa," Michel said in statement, adding that China had given its army two light aircraft.

The two countries signed a military cooperation agreement in 2004 that has enabled some 50 Seychelles soldiers to be trained in China. They renewed their agreement Friday, with China to provide further training and equipment.

If the Chinese military base goes ahead, "it won't be the first foreign military presence here because the Americans already have a small drone base here that they use in the fight against piracy," Adam said.

After warships started deploying in the Gulf of Aden in 2008 to thwart attacks on vessels, Somali pirates enlarged their field of operations into the Indian Ocean, including towards the Seychelles.

With 115 islands scattered over an area of 1.4 million square kilometres (540,000 square miles), a population of 85,000 and an army of just 500, the archipelago has been asking for foreign assistance.

Liang flew in from the Ugandan capital Kampala, where, according to Ugandan government sources, he promised $2.3 million in military aid, including support to troops in the African Union force in Somalia.

The Seychelles president also welcomed "Russian support in the fight against piracy" after he met Friday with Sergey Kryukov, Russia's top foreign ministry official for Africa.

Piracy has flourished off war-torn Somalia, outwitting international efforts -- including constant patrols by warships and tough sentencing of the pirates they capture.

Previous blog entry on the basing question:

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

The base question.

Since pundits love to portrait the Global Times as the ONLY opinion and ONLY news source out of China. It is given that the following OpEd will receive much media attention. Also, A few concepts need to spell out -- "build" vs operate vs ownership vs control vs lease.... all those are loaded words in geopolitics.

China needs overseas bases for global role
http://opinion.globaltimes.cn/chinese-press/2011-05/658995.html
Source: Global Times
[19:26 May 25 2011]
Comments

Beijing recently denied a rumor that the Pakistani government has invited it to build a naval base at the port of Gwadar.

But this doesn't stop some of the Western countries and India, China's regional competitor, playing with the so-called China threat theory.

China still has many internal issues other than military development that require urgent attentions, and its military is only being developed to meet the country's self-defense needs. China has made these points many times in the international arena.

China has also made it clear that it wants to maintain peaceful and harmonious relationships with other regional powers.

However, if China is going to play an important role in the Asia-Pacific region and on the international stage, as urged by the international community, it eventually will need to establish overseas military bases in cooperation with other countries.

Military co-operation, along with economic and cultural co-operation, will become increasingly important between China and other regional powers.

It will not only make our world safer, but can also protect trade routes from pirates and terrorists. Worrying about China's overseas military activity will only isolate China from the rest of the world.

Thus, if the world really wants China to take more responsibilities in Asia-Pacific region and around the world, it should allow China to participate in international military co-operations and understand the need of China to set up overseas military bases.

Peace is China's only military interest and the international community should keep this in mind.
Huanqiu Shibao

My previous blog entry on the base question from last year.

Sunday, July 25, 2010

http://china-defense.blogspot.com/2011/05/base-question.html

Of bases, places, access points, and friendly locations

AYPABTU -- all your place are belong to us.

The question of how the PLAN will receive support for their deployments to the gulf of Aden is still subject to debate and here are some recently published views:

Daniel Kostecka of the US Navy explains the difference between a naval "base" vs. a "place" in the context of the The Chinese Navy’s Emerging Support Network in the Indian Ocean in the latest issue of the Jamestown Foundation's China Brief. (here)
Here are some noteworthy quotes.

While Chinese government officials and academics debate the underlying issues, a supply network of “places” is quietly taking shape [*]. Regardless of whether or not the PLAN develops its support network through a series of formal agreements that guarantee access, or continues to supply its forces as it has been, that network is developing and will in all likelihood continue to grow in the foreseeable future.

Singapore – In all of the speculation about future Chinese facilities in the Indian Ocean, Singapore has been largely ignored by pundits and military analysts. This is somewhat puzzling given Singapore’s friendly relations with Beijing and its strategic position in the Strait of Malacca, which Chinese strategists consider a critical gateway to the Indian Ocean. PLAN vessels have made four port calls to Changi Naval Base, including the May 2007 participation of a PLAN frigate in the multilateral exercise IMDEX-07 and a December 2009 visit by FFG-529 during its transit home from patrol duty in the Gulf of Aden (China Military Online, May 24, 2007; PRC Ministry of National Defense, December 8, 2009). Beijing also signed a defense agreement between China and Singapore in January 2008 that calls for increases in exchanges, educational opportunities and port calls and in July 2010, China’s defense minister pledged to further the development of military relations between China and Singapore (The Straits Times Online, January 8, 2008; Xinhua News Agency, July 14).

* The term "place" as opposed to a "base" was used by then Commander USPACOM, Admiral Thomas B. Fargo during a March 31, 2004 testimony before the House Armed Services Committee, www.pacom.mil/speeches/sst2004/040331housearmedsvcscomm.shtml

Dr Andrew S. Erickson writing for "The PLA At Home And A Abroad -- Assessing The Operational Capabilities" prefers the phase "access points" or "friendly locations" to describe the PLAN's support networks.

For several years now, China has been developing a number of what Kamphausen and Liang refer to as “access points,” or “friendly locations” that are intended to enhance the PLA’s ability to project power in Asia.

Pakistan’s port of Gwadar and Sri Lanka’s port of Hambantota represent possible candidates. China has invested significantly in their development, and has made contributions over the years to the welfare of their host governments in the areas of politics, economics, and infrastructure. Perhaps the PLAN is making greatest progress in Burma, where it has reportedly assisted in the construction of several naval facilities (their precise nature undefined) on the Bay of Bengal.

Dr Andrew S. Erickson's places and access graph

No matter how it is called, the Pakistan Navy recently offered facilities, ports, logistics, maintenance among other things to the Chinese navy

http://www.app.com.pk/en_/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=110081&Itemid=2

Pakistan navy vows to expand co-op with China

BEIJING, July 22 (APP): Pakistan Navy is very satisfied with the performance of the F-22P frigate it bought from China and hopes to further the cooperation with the nation, said Admiral Noman Bashir, Pakistan’s Chief of Naval Staff. Two of the four F-22P frigates it ordered are already in service in Pakistan Navy, with the third one scheduled to be commissioned on September 15 this year. It is also expected that all the four ships will be in service by 2013. “We are very happy with the performance, and some technology is as good as in Western countries,” the China Daily quoted Admiral Noman Bashir, who visited China four times last year.

Pakistan also hopes to buy bigger ships with more firepower from China, such as 4,000 ton class frigates.

Pakistan has proposed to develop strategic maritime cooperation with China in both military and commercial sects, such as in fishery, economic development zones, and cargo, he said.

“The friendship between China and Pakistan is greater than the Himalayas and deeper than the Ocean. We already made progress in air force and other areas, now we should further and expand the cooperation in Navy, a broadly-based relation.”
Pakistan’s strategic geographical location in the Arabian Sea and its long coastline mean its possible contribution to the missions of China’s navy, particularly under the context of energy need from the Persian Gulf, said Pakistan officials.

Pakistan also has rich experiences in countering illegal activities at sea in order to maintain maritime security, four ships participated in anti-piracy operations, and there has been no act of maritime terrorism in its region in the recent past.
“We can provide facilities, ports, logistics, maintenance among other things (to Chinese navy),” said a Pakistan navy official.

Pakistan hopes to buy more ships from China, UK and France according to its development plan.

Photo of the day: ex-VAYAG as viewed from a 737