73% Of Pakistan’s Military Needs Met by China
China is now Pakistan’s only supplier of advanced armaments. With the United States cutting off Pakistan’s defence funding, China has swooped in with both weapons and tactics in an attempt to make sure the Imran Khan-led country continues to pose a security challenge to India.
Military Dependence on China
Pakistan’s military has not seen any major cuts to its budget. Pakistan, which is surviving on loans from its allies, former allies and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), is largely run from Rawalpindi, the headquarters of its powerful military, and not from Islamabad.
China is now the chief supplier of weapons to Pakistan from 2015 to 2019 with 73 per cent of the latter’s arms supply coming from China.
In July, China agreed to supply four attack drones to Pakistan. In December 2019, they struck a deal to supply 236 howitzer guns. They signed a contract worth $512 million.
Another agreement was signed to overhaul Pakistan’s main battle tank. Reportedly, Pakistan may also get the Chinese JH-7 jets to boost air power.
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All other suppliers – have a single-digit share and Chinese military support is not just limited to arms. The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is also training with Pakistan’s soldiers.
In January, the navies of China and Pakistan conducted a nine-day mega naval exercise called the ‘Sea Guardians 2020’. The drills were carried out in the northern Arabian sea.
A month before that, the warrior seven joint military drills were held in Pakistan. In August 2019, the air forces conducted the Shaheen eight military exercise in the Chinese city of Holton, which is close to the Indian border near Ladakh.
China and Pakistan are now sharing military intelligence, too. Recently, a Pakistani general was invited to attend a highly restricted meeting of the central military commission with an effort to enhance cooperation on Afghanistan.
China’s military support to Pakistan is expanding in all directions – from selling firepower to sharing intelligence – the dragon is building another defence force on India’s western border.
As Pakistan turns into a colony for China, the country’s army is being readied as a surrogate fighting force for Beijing.
Joint Military Commission
A future war between India against Pakistan and China could see greater co-ordination, even active participation of both countries, against India. China and Pakistan have been discussing, for years now, the setting up of a joint military commission (JMC) with a Sino-Indian military conflict a growing possibility.
‘Iron brothers’ China and Pakistan reportedly discussed the JMC between Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi and his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mahmood Qureshi during the second Sino-Pakistan strategic dialogue at Hainan in China on 21 August. A mechanism that will pave way for greater operational coordination between their militaries, the JMC, should it materialise, will have great implications for India’s security. In the event of an armed conflict with Pakistan or China, India has always anticipated a two-front war, but hitherto in India-Pakistan wars, China has refrained from actively joining the fighting on Pakistan’s side although it did indulge in threatening military manoeuvres to pressure India and keep a part of its forces tied down along the Sino-Indian border.
Chinese Military Logistics Facilities
According to the US Pentagon’s annual report Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China (PRC) 2020, submitted to the US Congress on 2 September, China is seeking to set up more robust logistics facilities in about a dozen countries, including three in India’s neighbourhood, to allow the PLA to project and sustain military power at greater distances.
In addition to the three neighbours of India – Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Myanmar – the other countries where China is considering to base its military logistics and infrastructure facilities are Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, United Arab Emirates, Kenya, Seychelles, Tanzania, Angola and Tajikistan.
The Pentagon said, Beijing uses the One Belt One Road (OBOR) projects associated with pipelines and port construction in Pakistan intend to decrease China’s reliance on transporting energy resources through strategic choke points, such as the Strait of Malacca.
Equipping Terrorists
Pakistan’s long list of items includes 80,000 rounds of steel bullets. It is feared these will help arm jihadis and facilitate their intrusion. Steel bullets are potent enough to pierce through bulletproof jackets and have been used by terror groups against security forces in the last few years.
Many of the items on Pakistan’s shopping list are for equipping terrorists. The list includes surveillance platforms, winter clothing and equipment for high-altitude areas, artillery guns and combat armed drones. China wants to ensure that there is action at the Line of Control.
Pakistan has already procured 3,000-4,000 military combat ballistic bulletproof jackets from China. These are being supplied to the mujahideen battalions that assist terrorists of Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba at Line of Control (LoC) in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
Pakistan is also procuring balloon radars from China to be used at LoC. These helium-filled balloon looking airborne ground surveillance systems can go up to a height of 15,000 feet.
Intelligence reports also say Pakistan is procuring a medium-altitude long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) Cai Hong-4 (CH-4) from China. It can carry a wide range of payloads. These UAVs might be used at the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir to create further unrest in India.
Can Pakistan Get F-35s or its Technology?
The F-35s are one of the most sought-after fighter jets in the world especially due to the stealth technology that it employs, speed and agility, fully fused sensor information, network-enabled operations and advanced sustainment.
The UAE has shown keen interest to acquire these fifth-generation stealth jets, however, Israel has objected to the possible sale despite the historical agreement between Israel and the UAE.
The United States earlier inked deals for its F-35 fighter jet with many key allies including the UK, Australia, and Japan but Israel is the only nation in the Middle-East to have it.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stated that his country would oppose any sale of weapons in the region which would threaten its military superiority in the Middle East.
The UAE has the most advanced military in the Arab world while Qatar and Saudi Arabia are aggressively catching up in terms of the capacity of their forces and their domestic defense industries – both areas where Pakistan plays a critical role.
Pakistanis have been known to provide training to Middle-East armed forces including the UAE and Saudi Arabia and thousands of their defense personnel have served and are presently serving in their uniforms.
Pakistani personnel also hold influential positions as advisers and trainers in the UAE Air Force (UAEAF). The UAEAF has even been termed by a prominent Pakistani author as an extension of the Pakistan Air Force. The first five Chiefs of Air Staff of the UAE Air Force were Pakistanis. Even though UAE is one of the staunchest allies of India, the influence of Pakistani defense personnel in Gulf nations remains extremely high.
If the UAE gets F-35s, it could be Pakistani pilots who could be flying these stealth jets, and a lot of sensitive information can get passed to Pakistan and eventually to China. Thus Israel is, and should staunchly object to the sale of F-35s to the UAE.
List of Weapon Systems Pakistan is Buying From China
Army
Armour.
• Manufacture of Al Khalid-1: Pakistan is manufacturing 110x Al Khalid-1 tanks (Phase-1) at Heavy Industries Taxila (HIT) with Chinese assistance at the scale of 22 tanks/year.
• Al-Khalid -Il: Pakistan was exploring procurement of 1500 HP diesel engine for its Al-Khalid-11 Tank from NORINCO, China.
• Procurement of 12.7mm AA Gun: Machine Gun Factory (MGF), Pakistan was likely to procure 750 numbers of 12.7mm MMG (Anti-Ac Machine Gun) from Hong Kong Sky Wise, China.
• T-85 Up-gradation: Asia Pacific Department of China North Industries Corporation (NORINCO) has submitted the quotations for up-gradation and rebuild of 90 x T85-IIAP tanks to HIT Taxila.
• VT-4 Tanks: Pakistan Army plans to induct 360 x new MBTs. China’s VT-4 is in contention for this major contract and has participated for trials in 2015 & in Jul and Aug 2017.
Air Defence.
• ESHORADS: Pakistan Army has purchased three ESHORAD FM-90 Air Defence system from the PLA package. The equipment were displayed on Pak Day Parade in 2017.
• QW-18 SAMs: Pakistan has received 1391 x QW-18 SAM systems from China. 100 sets of QW-18 SAMs were provided by China out of PLA package.
• LY-80 LOMADS: Pakistan Army has procured nine systems of LY-80 LOMADS from China. Pak Army had signed two separate contracts for supply of the AD Sys along with IBIS-150 radar. Delivery of all nine systems was completed in 2019.
• HIMAD System: Pakistan has evinced interest in purchase of the FD-2000 HIMAD system from China out of PLA Package. China has conveyed that should the HIMAD system be provided under the PLA package then Pak will not be able to get anything else under the PLA package up to 2035.
• FN-16 Missiles: ALIT, China has forwarded a technical proposal for supply of 1265 x FN-16 Man Portable AD Systems (MANPADS), 14 x Launching Mechanisms, 2 x Man Portable Missile Launchers, accessories, spares and tools, amounting to US$ 28,998,390.
UAV / UCAV.
• Burraq UAV: Burraq UAV (armed/recce variants) are very similar to CH-3 UAVs of China and even Burg missile is very similar to AR-1 missiles fitted on CH-3 Armed UAVs and are likely to have been built with Chinese assistance.
• CH-4/ CH-5 UCAV. Pak is negotiating with China for procurement of CH-4 & CH-5 UCAVs. Also discussing co-production of CH-5 Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle and subsequent joint R&D projects.
• Wing Loong-1 (WL-1): China is making efforts to supply WL (Wing Loong) series of UAVs to Pak MI Directorate. Pak currently holds one WL-I UAV.
Artillery.
• 155/52 mm caliber Mounted Gun System (MGS): Pakistan Army is evaluating the Chinese Track Mounted Gun SH-15 gun. Pakistan has already procured 36 SH-1 MGS and is likely to procure 36 more MGS in the near future.
• Re-lifing of A-100 MLRS: ALIT, China has forwarded technical proposal to GHQ Rawalpindi for re-lifing for 1st & 2nd battery of A-100 MLRS in Dec 2019 and Mar 2022.
Misc.
• Z-10ME Helicopters. Pakistan Army had received 3 x Z-10 helicopters from China for trials/ use in counter-terrorist operations in FATA region.
NAVY
• 8xAir Independent Propulsion (AIP) Submarines: Pakistan had contracted 8 x Yuan Class AIP conventional submarines under Project S-26 from China in 2015 at an estimated cost of $ 4.8 billion. The first four submarines are being manufactured in China while the remaining four would be constructed at Karachi Shipyard under transfer of technology.
• Construction of VLF Station: The construction of Pakistan Navy VLF station under Project-333 is under progress at Turbat by PTI, China since 2011.
• Construction of Fast Attack Craft (Missile): Pakistan Navy has already procured 2 X FAC (M) from China between 2011-14 at an estimated cost of $43.5 million. Three of them were being manufactured at Karachi since April 2015 under transfer of technology.
• F-22P Frigates: Pakistan Navy had procured 4 x Jiangwei-Il Class F-22 frigates from China between 2009-13. It is progressing construction of 4 x additional F-22 Frigates (Batch II) of the same class under transfer of technology.
• FN-16 for Navy: Pak Navy plans to procure 100 X FN-16 SHORADS Surface to Air (SAM) missiles from ALIT, China at a cost of US $ 13.256 million.
• Type 054A/P Frigates: China is boosting Pakistan’s naval muscle with four Type 054A/P guided missile frigates, said to be the most advanced weapons platforms China has ever supplied to another country.
Air Force
• JF-17 Project: Block-1 construction (50 x aircraft) has been completed. Construction of Block-11 (50 x aircraft) is under progress since December 2013. The same will replace PAF Mirage and F-7P aircraft of PAF Block-Il.
• Procurement of CM-400 AKG Missiles: Pakistanis was negotiations with CATIC China for purchase of 40 CM-400 AKG (20 of IR and 20 of Optical type, both with penetration warhead) air-to-ground missile.
• ZOK-03 AWACS: Used ZDK-03 AWACS were under consideration.
• Advanced J-10 Fighters: China will supply Pakistan with J-10 fighter jets that are comparable with advanced versions of the US F-16 fighter. Further antagonising India, Pakistan has also asked China for short-range PL-10 and long-range PL-15 air to air missiles.
Miscellaneous
IW Capability.
• Cyber Information/ Cyber Security: Pakistan has been sought Chinese cooperation in the field of cyber information assurance and cyber security domain. It wants Chinese assistance in monitoring of internet and VOIP.
• Information Security Laboratory (ISL): CETC-PRIVIS, China was facilitating Pak in building its all round capability in the domain of cyber warfare by the setting up of Information Security Lab (ISL) under the National Electronics Complex of Pakistan (NECOP).
Nuclear Cooperation.
• China is assisting Pakistan in development of Tactical Nuclear Weapons based on Plutonium-based warheads.
• Satellite Navigation: Chinese Satellite Navigation Office (CSNO) has agreed to establish BeiDou enabled Continuously Operating Radar Station (CORS) network in Pak
• Acquisition of Remote Sensing Satellite: Pak had signed a MoU with China in 2011 on acquisition of a Remote Sensing Satellite (RSS).
