KARACHI (AA): A new generation anti-ship Chinese missile, which PakistanNavy is going to induct in 2021, will serve as a “deterrent” butsimultaneously aggravate an already escalating arms race between thenuclear-armed neighbors, Pakistan and India, analysts said.
The CM-302 — capable of flying at three times the speed of sound — issupposed to be a primary weapon onboard the four new generation Type 054frigates — which Beijing is building for Pakistan Navy.
Type-054 A is an extremely potent and state of the art warship equippedwith latest weapons, including long-range missiles and hi-tech sensors,capable to undertake operations in all domains of naval warfare.
In December 2018, the steel cutting ceremony of first warship of Type 054was held at Hudong Zhonghua (HZ) Shipyard China.
Quoting Indian Navy officials and experts, Indian media earlier this weekreported that the acquisition of the CM-302 missile will neutralize anadvantage the Indian Navy had been enjoying since 2005 in the Indian Oceanbecause of its BrahaMos anti-ship cruise missiles.
Also, the Chinese missile — dubbed as a “game changer” by the Indianexperts — matches both the supersonic speed and the range of the BrahaMosmissiles that have been deployed on several front-line frigates anddestroyers of the Indian Navy, India’s NDTV reported.
“This is true that the CM-302 missile will negate the advantage the IndianNavy has been enjoying over Pakistan Navy. But it will act as a deterrent,”Ikram Sehgal, a Karachi-based defense analyst, told Anadolu Agency.
“In fact, it will be good for peace because it will maintain theequilibrium between the two navies in terms of weaponry,” opined Sehgal,who is also editor of Defense Journal of Pakistan — a reputable defensemagazine.
“A sizeable imbalance in terms of conventional warfare might lead tonuclear threshold. Therefore, such developments, which actually balance thedifference in conventional warfare, in which Pakistan certainly has adisadvantage, will serve as a deterrent,” he maintained.
China – Pakistan defense ties
Lt. Gen. (retired) Talat Masood, an Islamabad-based defense analyst, seesthe development as “significant”, terming it another reflection of growingties between Islamabad and Beijing.
“This is one of the current missiles, which are compatible to the Indianmissiles. It will certainly boost the operational capabilities of PakistanNavy, though it will take some time,” Masood, who served as a three-stargeneral in Pakistan army from 1950 to 1990, told Anadolu Agency.
Another aspect of this development, he opined, was that China wantedPakistan to engage India to foil its bid to take on Beijing.
“China wants to see India engaged in the region through Pakistan ratherthan becoming a threat to Beijing,” he maintained.
China has long been Pakistan’s largest defense partner with the latter’sgrowing reliance on the former in recent years following strained tiesbetween Washington and Islamabad.
Pakistan sealed a $5 billion deal with China in 2016 for the acquisition of8 Chinese Yuan-class type 041 diesel submarines by 2028 to “address forceimbalance” with its arch-rival India.
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Arms Race
The development, according to analysts, will further exacerbate the ongoingarms race between the two arch-rivals locked in a string of sea and landdisputes and have fought three wars and a three-week long skirmish since1947.
“Certainly, it will add up to the ongoing arms race because now New Delhiwill look for an alternative to maintain its advantage over Pakistan,”Sehgal said, adding: “New Delhi’s possible endeavor to keep its advantageintact will undoubtedly propel Pakistan to go for further procurements.”
Masood shared a similar view.
“The latest development is part of an ongoing arms race between the twonuclear rivals, and it will continue in future as well,” he said.
Currently, New Delhi is spending $40 billion a year on defense, whilePakistan has earmarked $7.6 billion for defense expenditures this fiscalyear.
India ranked eighth on the list of countries with the largest militaryexpenditures, while Pakistan’s defense budget was five times smaller.
India boasts the world’s third largest army after the U.S. and China, withan active troop strength of over 1.3 million. Pakistan, meanwhile, standseighth on the list with a 600,000-man army.
China represents Pakistan’s largest defense partner, followed by the U.S. —Islamabad’s ally in the so-called war on terrorism.
Nuclear powers
Pakistan and India are among a small handful countries with nucleararsenals. India joined the nuclear club long before Pakistan, in 1974,prompting Islamabad to follow suit.
Pakistan silently developed its own nuclear capability in the 1980s, whenit was an ally of the U.S. in the first Afghan war against the crumblingSoviet Union.
It did not conduct any nuclear tests until India carried out a series ofits own tests in 1999. Only three weeks later, Pakistan conducted sixsuccessful tests in the remote Chaghi district near the Afghanistan-Iranborder, stoking fears of a nuclear war between the longtime rivals.
According to Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Indiacurrently possesses between 80 and 100 nuclear warheads, while Pakistanholds between 90 and 110.
