Tuesday, Apr 05, 2005
Pakistan to buy Chinese frigates
By B. Muralidhar Reddy
ISLAMABAD, APRIL 4. On the eve of the three-day bilateral visit of the Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, Pakistan and China today concluded an agreement for the construction of four F-22P frigates for the Pakistan Navy.
Mr. Wen Jiabao arrives here at the beginning of his South Asia tour. Besides delivering the key-note address on April 6 at the Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD), to be attended by representatives of 25 countries, he would hold talks with the Pakistani President, Pervez Musharraf, and the Prime Minister, Shaukat Aziz. According to a statement by the Pakistani Defence Ministry, the agreement involves four separate contracts for the construction of the state of the art frigates with related equipment/systems with special element of Transfer of Technology (ToT). These ships will help make the seaward defence of Pakistan "impregnable," said the statement.
Organic helicopters
The 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-defence systems, it said.
Mr. Wen said he was looking forward to holding extensive talks with the Pakistani leadership, taking their friendship and cooperation to a "new high." He vowed to reinforce the China-Pakistan friendship, which he said withstood test of times and international vicissitudes.
He told the Beijing-based correspondent of the Associated Press of Pakistan (APP), the state run news agency, that his Government wished to take some new practical measures to expand and upgrade their existing partnership. He said partnership was in the fundamental interests of the two countries and peace and development in the region.
While underlining the importance of the Gwadar port in their economic interactions, being constructed with Chinese assistance, Mr. Wen hoped their "all-weather and all-dimensional cooperation" will usher in a new era of peace and prosperity for their people.
Copyright © 2005, The Hindu.