China has delivered its largest and most advanced warship to Pakistan as it seeks to beef up the navy of its all-weather ally in the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean, where it has increased its own naval presence in recent years.

Designed and built by China State Shipbuilding Corporation Limited (CSSC), the frigate was delivered to the Pakistan Navy in a commissioning ceremony in Shanghai, the CSSC announced in a statement on Monday.

The Type 054A/P frigate was named the PNS Tughril, state-run Global Times reported on Tuesday. Pakistani Ambassador to China Moin ul Haque said that the commissioning of the PNS Tughril ensures balance of power in the Indian Ocean. 

The frigate is the largest and most advanced warship China has ever exported, CSSC said.

Chinese state media reported the commissioning of the warship, quoting local and Pakistani officials, listing the vessel’s advanced capabilities, and noting that the delivery highlights Sino-Pakistan “all-weather strategic cooperative partnership."

The PNS Tughril is the first of the four Type 054 frigates being constructed for the Pakistan Navy, the state-run tabloid, Global Times reported, saying that the “…ship is a technologically advanced and highly capable platform with enormous surface-to-surface, surface-to-air and underwater firepower, besides extensive surveillance potentials."

Being equipped with state-of-the-art combat management and an electronic warfare system along with modern self-defence capabilities, the Type 054A/P frigate can simultaneously execute a number of naval warfare missions in a highly intense multi-threat environment.

Zhang Junshe, a senior research fellow at the PLA Naval Research Academy, told the Global Times earlier that Type 054A, on which the Type 054A/P is based, is China’s most advanced frigate.

Compared to previous Chinese frigates, the new ship has better air defence capability, as it is equipped with an improved radar system and a larger number of missiles with a longer range, Zhang said, noting that the Type 054A frigate also has world-class stealth capability.

According to a PTI report, the Pakistan Navy has contracted the construction of four Type 054A/P frigates from China since 2017. The head of the Pakistan Navy Mission overseeing construction of the 054A/P frigate, Commodore Rashid Mehmood Sheikh, said that the PNS Tughril, being a multi-mission capable frigate, will form the mainstay of the Pakistan Navy fleet while bolstering the Pakistan Navy's maritime defence capabilities.

Image courtesy: Twitter/@PakistanNavy