Chinese Submarine to Pakistan: Raising Nuclear Tensions in South Asia
Pakistan, a country plagued by economic and political insecurity, to conclude the deal of eight conventional submarines during Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Islamabad on Monday (April 20), reports Bloomberg.
This will help Pakistan gain the ability to fire nuclear weapons at sea, keeping pace with rival India, says analysts. Given the political instability and the activities of numerous terrorist groups operating in Pakistan, this poses great threat for whole world too.
The submarine sale will add to tensions in regional waters as PM Narendra Modi bulks up India's navy to prevent China from gaining a foothold in the area.
Nuclear weapons at sea pose a greater risk than stationary land-based arsenals because they are submerged and harder to detect.
Pakistan has the fastest growing nuclear program in the world, according to the New York-based Council on Foreign Relations. Its arsenal, built with the help of Chinese technology, stands at between 100 and 120 warheads, compared with China's 250 and India with between 90 and 100.
According to Iskander Rehman of the Atlantic Council, a Washington-based policy research group, while India began sea trials for its first nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine in 2009, the nation is still years from deploying a nuclear weapon at sea. In February India increased its defense budget by 11 percent to $40 billion and approved the building of six nuclear-powered submarines.
Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar however has said New Delhi has the ability to match the proposed acquisitions by Islamabad. “I do not see it as a big problem because we will have enough submarines by the time Pakistan gets these eight. By the time they get the deliveries, we can manufacture 15-20 submarines,” he asserted in an interview.
