China-Pakistan Economic Corridor
(CPEC), Dawn reported.
Yesterday, the Chinese ships were received by the Commander of the Vice Admiral of the Pakistani Navy, Arifullah Hussaini. The ships are called PMSS Hingol and PMSS Basol after two rivers in the region.
"The ships have become part of the Pakistani Navy as of today and the (Pakistani) navy would be strengthened by induction of these maritime vessels," Hussaini told the Dawn newspaper. He added that
the friendship between Pakistan and China
It was getting stronger and deeper than the ocean, day by day.
China is expected to supply two more ships "Dasht" and "Zhob" to the Pakistani navy. You are already working on them and they are expected to be completed soon.
Pakistan has already raised a new army division to ensure security along the CPEC route and
in and around the port of Gwadar
. Gwadar city security has been turned over to the new army division created during the mandate of former retired army chief of staff Gen Raheel Sharif.
CPEC is an economic corridor comprising a collection of projects currently under construction at a cost of $ 54 billion. CPEC aims to facilitate trade along a land route connecting Kashgar and Gwadar, through the construction of a network of roads, railways, fiber optics, and pipelines.
"The economic corridor will be a game changer for Pakistan and China, and the entire region would benefit from it," said the Pak navy official. "CPEC will open new prospects for rapid development in Balochistan and create thousands of jobs for local youth," he said.
In 2014, China took over the management of the Gwadar port in Pakistan, en route to the main oil transportation routes of the Strait of Hormuz. The move had raised concerns in India about the growing strategic influence of its Asian giant.
.