China delivers largest, most advanced warship to Pakistan

China delivered its largest, most advanced warship ever exported to Pakistan on Monday, assisting the South Asian nation in striking a “balance” in the Indian Ocean region.

The type 054A/P, christened PNS Tughril by Pakistan, is the first of the four frigates to be delivered to the country and comes with a “state-of-the-art combat management and an electronic warfare system along with modern self-defense capabilities,” Global Times reported.

Pakistan signed a contract with the manufacturer, China State Shipbuilding Corporation Limited, in 2017 to buy two 054A type ships, increasing the number to four a year later. All were contracted for delivery by 2021, Naval Technology wrote, adding that China had offered the ships to Thailand in 2013, but the country chose the South Korean modified Gwanggaeto the Great-class destroyers instead.