Pakistan China Trade: Warship Designed To Secure Lucrative Shipping Route

Pakistan has started building a missile warship aimed at revamping its navy as part of an effort to secure a trade route – the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor – to western China. The boat, which was designed by Maritime Technologies Complex, is considered the “first indigenously designed missile boat” and will have the “latest weapons and sensors,” Defense News reported Tuesday.

The missile will also include an original combat-management system and anti-ship missiles. Some speculate that the weapons on the boat will be the C-602, a similar version of China’s YJ-62.

The multi-billion dollar trade route that connects Kashgar in China and Gwadar in Pakistan is currently under construction. The trade route would establish ties between the western parts of China to the Arabian Sea through Gwadar’s water port.

The project mainly relates to “evolvement of economic activities” as well as “cooperation in energy, transport infrastructure (road, railways, and airports), Gwadar port and city projects, and Industrial parks,” the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor's official website states.

China is eager to advance its influence in Pakistan, Central and South Asia through the project, while experts state that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor will help grow Pakistan’s economy. The project could assist upwards of three billion people, Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sarif said in November during a ceremony inaugurating the route.

"The participants of the pilot convoy, who have made it to Gwadar, are the harbingers of development and progress, that this region is to see soon," he said.

The trade route will also be useful for resolving peace efforts in Balochistan, Army Chief General Qamar Bajwa said to a crowd Thursday at Khuzdar Engineering University.

“I’m confident that the current security challenges and external efforts to derail peace will end with the growing realization of geo-economic advantages of a fully developed China-Pakistan Economic Corridor project and infrastructure projects all over Balochistan,” he said.

Balochistan – a province in Pakistan – has experienced insurgencies following Pakistan's annexation of the Baloch state of Kalat nearly 50 years ago. Armed separatist groups including Lashkar-e-Balochistan and Balochistan Liberation Army are also demanding independence from Pakistan.

Bajwa said his hopes "rest with the highly patriotic youth of the province." “I salute the determination and resilience of the people of Balochistan against the onslaught of terrorism by the enemies of peace and prosperity," he added.