Pakistan Army Chief Asim Munir had tried to make a big and dangerous deal with China in 2024. He had demanded a nuclear-armed submarine in exchange for allowing China to use Gwadar Port as a permanent naval base.
A report by an American independent news outlet has claimed that Pakistan Army Chief and Field Marshal Asim Munir had demanded nuclear-armed submarines from China in 2024. In return, Pakistan was willing to allow Gwadar Port to be used as a permanent base for the Chinese Navy.
According to the report, Pakistan wanted to acquire ‘second strike’ capability through this deal. That means, even if the enemy attacks first and destroys its ground and air nuclear targets, the submarines hidden in the depths of the sea can still carry out retaliatory nuclear attacks. In this way, Pakistan wanted to move forward on the path of completing the nuclear triad (nuclear attack from water, land and air).
American news website Drop Site News has revealed this. Pakistan wanted China to give it a submarine that could launch a retaliatory nuclear attack on the enemy by hiding in the sea. This is called second strike capability. This would have further strengthened Pakistan’s nuclear power. Currently, Pakistan has the capability to launch nuclear attacks from land and air, but not from the sea. If this deal had been done, Pakistan would have gained the power to launch nuclear attacks from land, air and sea.
China accepted this demand as excessive and the talks did not progress further. Pakistan is already very dependent on China. Most of its weapons and nuclear technology are made with the help of China. US President Donald Trump calls Asim Munir his favorite field marshal. During Munir’s time, Pakistan is improving relations with America, but also wants to maintain old relations with China.
Gwadar Port is an important part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). If Pakistan had got a nuclear submarine, tension in the region could have increased. Only a few selected countries of the world, America, Russia, China, France, Britain and India have nuclear submarines. Being equipped with these is no mean feat.
History of Pakistan-China nuclear cooperation
China has long been a major defense partner of Pakistan. In the 1970-80s, China provided technical assistance to Pakistan for its nuclear program. Later missile technology was also transferred. Recently Pakistan has acquired Hangor class submarines from China, but these are not said to carry nuclear weapons.