April 4, 200521 yr From DefenseNews Pakistan To Buy Four Warships from China By AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, ISLAMABAD Pakistan will buy four frigates for its navy from long-time ally China, the defense ministry said April 4, ahead of a visit by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao. “Pakistan and China have signed four contracts for the construction of four F-22P frigate ships for Pakistan Navy,” a Pakistani defense ministry statement said. The frigates will be equipped with anti-submarine helicopters, surface-to-surface and surface-to-air missiles and other defense systems, the statement added. “These ships, after construction, will be inducted into Pakistan Navy which would not only enhance the operational capabilities of Pakistan Navy, but will also make impregnable the seaward defense of Pakistan,” it said. The statement did not say how much Pakistan would pay China or how long it would take to build the four warships. The contracts were signed by Pakistan defense production secretary Ali Muhammad Jan Aurakzai and a senior Chinese official in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, near Islamabad, the defense ministry statement said. China is Pakistan’s strongest ally and Islamabad relies heavily on Beijing for its defense needs. Many Chinese companies operate in Pakistan and China is involved in the construction of a deep-sea port at Gwadar on the Arabian Sea. China’s Wen arrives in Pakistan on April 5 for a three-day visit.
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