How ‘Iron Brother’ China is boosting Pakistan’s military capability

China’s strategic partnership with Pakistan has deepened with the delivery of a second advanced Hangor-class submarine. This delivery, part of a $5bn agreement for eight such vessels, is expected to bolster Pakistan’s naval capabilities in the Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean.The submarine, launched in central China’s Wuhan, features cutting-edge weaponry and sensor technology.China has previously delivered four modern naval frigates to its all-weather ally. The move aligns with China’s growing naval presence in the Arabian Sea, particularly around the Gwadar port in Balochistan, which is a key component of the multi-billion dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).Beijing has been the largest supplier of weapons to Pakistan for years and this trend is unlikely to change in the near future. But why?The shortest answer to this question is Donald Trump.Will Trump scale up ties with Pakistan?The Pakistani strategic circle has been upbeat about the possibility of improved ties with America since US President Trump’s rare acknowledgment of Islamabad’s cooperation in nabbing Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K) terrorist Mohammad Sharifullah, who allegedly played a key role in the 2021 Kabul airport attack that killed 170 Afghans and 12 US soldiers.Based on US intelligence inputs, the Pakistani military had reportedly apprehended Sharifullah near the Afghan border. He was extradited to the US earlier this month. medium nocaptionhttp://youtu.be/9u6oRjMcih0?si=QrUrLZu-wF87pd9sSoon after Trump’s announcement on March 3, Pakistan blew its own trumpet, highlighting its counterterrorism cooperation with Washington. “We will continue to partner closely with the United States in securing regional peace and stability,” Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said.However, analysts believe this enthusiasm could be short-lived as the Trump administration is unlikely to scale up its security and defence cooperation with Pakistan.“It would be premature to view bilateral cooperation on Sharifullah’s capture as a prelude to a new counterterrorism partnership. From Washington’s perspective, deepening US security ties with India and Pakistan’s alliance with China limit possibilities and incentives for cooperation — not to mention that the Trump administration has many harsh Pakistan critics in its ranks,” Michael Kugelman, director of South Asia Institute at the Wilson Center in Washington DC, writes in Foreign Policy magazine.He further argues that although both the US and Pakistan view IS-K as a threat, “they are not aligned on broader threat perceptions. Islamabad’s main concern is not IS-K but the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which operates from Afghanistan and has recently been the most potent terrorist group in Pakistan”.“With the United States most concerned about IS-K’s growing threat beyond Afghanistan, the Trump administration may look to partner with countries outside the region to tackle the group’s expanding reach,” according to Kugelman, a foreign policy expert.Additionally, US agencies are fully aware of the Pakistani deep state’s unholy alliance with terror groups that target India, one of Washington’s close security partners.Remember, Trump in his first term lambasted Islamabad and accused it of “lies and deceit” despite receiving billions in aid to tackle terrorism.All this means there is no guarantee that the US will scale up security and defence cooperation with Pakistan. The United States has foolishly given Pakistan more than 33 billion dollars in aid over the last 15 years, and they have given us nothing but lies & deceit, thinking of our leaders as fools. They give safe haven to the terrorists we hunt in Afghanistan, with little help. No more!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 1, 2018 Does Pakistan have any options other than China?With the US maintaining largely a transactional relationship with Pakistan, the latter is left with no option but to continue depending on its “iron brother” to boost its military capability.China has been the largest supplier of weapons to Pakistan, providing 81% of its advanced military systems over the past five years. This accounted for 63% of China’s total arms exports, valued at $5.28bn, according to Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), a leading conflict think tank.China’s growing security capabilities, coupled with its strengthening alliance with Pakistan, have substantially enhanced Beijing’s influence in South Asia, positioning it as a formidable rival to the US in the region. medium119210965 medium119210980Why Pakistan wants China on its sideRising tensions with India, particularly following a series of border skirmishes in 2016, have driven Islamabad to increase its defence spending, further strengthening its ties with Beijing.Pakistan has used submarines in the past to confront India as part of land wars. Prohibitions on dual military and civilian use of technology by European nations that make diesel submarines have left China as Pakistan’s best option for modern military equipment.The US used to be another major arms exporter to Pakistan but started limiting supplies “as it became dissatisfied with Pakistan’s efforts against the Taliban, Pakistan’s nuclear programme, and in general Pakistan’s lack of democratic development”, Siemon Wezeman, a senior researcher at SIPRI, told the South China Morning Post.As China and Pakistan moved closer, clear lines were emerging in Asia between the “China camp” and the “non-China camp”, which included the US and India, he said, adding that arms sales played a part in their emergence.With inputs from agencies