ISLAMABAD: The first Type-054 Class Frigate ordered by the Pakistani Navy was launched at the Hudong Zhonghua shipyard in Shanghai, China, the navy said in statement on Sunday.
Pakistan’s chief naval overseer in China, Commodore Azfar Humayun, and China Shipbuilding Trading (CSTC) chairman Mr. Li Hongtao attended the ceremony.
“The Type-054 class, fitted with latest surface, subsurface, anti-air weapons, combat management system and sensors will be one of the technologically advanced surface platforms of Pakistan Navy fleet,” the navy’s statement said.
It added that the ship will significantly contribute to “maintaining peace and security” in Pakistan’s “area of responsibility.”
Commodore Humayun said, as quoted in the statement, that it was a “new chapter” in Pakistan-China defense relations.
Pakistan and China enjoy close ties, including cooperation in the field of defense.
On Friday, Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, met in China’s Hainan province on to hold the second round of the China-Pakistan foreign ministers’ strategic dialogue.
The two sides “reached consensus to collectively take measures to safeguard their common interests and promote peace, prosperity, and development in the region,” and agreed on “continuing their firm support on issues concerning each other’s core national interests,” the Pakistani Foreign Office said in a statement after the meeting.
