The Pakistan Navy has received the first of its Chinese-built Hangor-class attack submarine fleet, as Beijing and Islamabad step up defence cooperation.
A commissioning ceremony was held for the advanced submarine – named the PNS/M Hangor – in the Chinese city of Sanya on Hainan Island on Thursday, according to a statement from Pakistan’s military.
Asif Ali Zardari, the country’s president, and naval chief Admiral Naveed Ashraf attended the event along with senior officials from both the Pakistan and Chinese navies.
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Zardari, who is on an official visit to China, described the commissioning of the submarine as a “historic milestone” in the Pakistan Navy’s modernisation, according to the statement.
He said it affirmed Islamabad’s resolve to maintain a “robust, balanced and credible defence posture” that was “fully capable of defending its sovereignty, protecting its maritime interests and ensuring the security of its economic lifelines”.
Ashraf noted that “disruptions at critical maritime choke points increasingly threaten global trade and energy security” and that maintaining a stable, rules-based maritime order “demands technologically advanced naval forces”.