China building 'most advanced' naval warships for Pakistan: report
Beijing, Jan 2 : China is building the first of four "most advanced" naval warships for its "all-weather ally" Pakistan as part of a major bilateral arms deal to ensure among other things "balance of power" in the strategic Indian Ocean, state media reported.
Equipped with modern detection and weapon systems, it will be capable of anti-ship, anti-submarine and air-defence operations, China Daily quoted state-owned defence contractor China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) as saying.
The under-construction ship is a version of the Chinese Navy's most advanced guided missile frigate, it said.
The CSSC did not specify the ship's type but said it is being constructed at its Hudong-Zhonghua shipyard in Shanghai.
China, an "all-weather ally" of Islamabad, is the largest supplier of weapon system to Pakistan. Both the countries also jointly manufacture JF-Thunder a single engine multi-role combat aircraft.
The ship's class is Type 054AP, which means it is based on the Type 054A of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy, the report quoted the Pakistani Navy as saying.
The Pakistani Navy previously said four such ships had been ordered, according to the report.
Once constructed, the warship "will be one of the largest and technologically advanced platforms of the Pakistani Navy and strengthen the country's capability to respond to future challenges, maintain peace and stability and the balance of power in the Indian Ocean region," the report said.
It will also support the Pakistani Navy's initiative of securing sea lanes for international shipping by patrolling distant waters, the daily quoted the CSSC as saying.
The mention of the Indian Ocean is regarded as significant as China, which has already taken over Pakistan's strategic Gwadar port under the multi-billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), looks to assist the Pakistani navy to restore the balance of power in India's backyard.
China has acquired the logistical military base in Djibouti and taken over the Hambantota port of Sri Lanka under a 99-year debt swap deal.
China recently denied a New York Times report that it finalised a plan to build advanced fighter aircraft under the CPEC in Pakistan, adding a military dimension to it.
India protested to China over the CPEC as it is being laid through the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
Pakistan became the first country to hook on to China's BeiDou Satellite Navigation System, a rival to the US Global Positioning System (GPS) which went global recently. The system was expected to be used for military applications.
The report said Type 054A is the best frigate in service with the PLA Navy. Military sources said the ship has a fully loaded displacement of about 4,000 metric tonnes and is equipped with advanced radars and missiles. About 30 Type 054As are in service with the PLA Navy.
An insider in China's shipbuilding sector with knowledge of the Type 054AP programme told the Daily that the ship is the largest and most powerful combat vessel China has ever exported.
"Based on pictures circulating on the internet, the ship will have vertical launch cells that can fire Chinese HQ-16 air-defence missiles and other kinds of missiles. Vertical launch cells will bring flexibility to the user in terms of weapons portfolio, thus giving it a stronger fighting capability," he said, adding that the Type 054AP is the best frigate Pakistan can access in the international market.
"The service of Type 054APs will double the combat power of the Pakistani Navy's surface fleet," he said.
Commenting on the ship's construction, Cao Weidong, a senior researcher at the PLA's Naval Military Studies Research Institute, said in the past, the Pakistani Navy would ask its Chinese contractors to use Western radars or weapons on ships constructed by the Chinese shipbuilders because it believed the Western naval technologies were better than Chinese ones.
"But it seems that all weapons and radars on the new ship will be Chinese products, which reflects our progress in the industry and the Pakistani Navy's confidence in our technology and capability," he said.
Cao said there are many nations selling frigates in the market, so Pakistan must have made thorough comparisons in terms of combat capability and costs.
"I believe the reason they chose our type is that ours is one of the few that can carry out all of the air-defence, anti-ship and anti-submarine tasks," he said, expecting the service of the Chinese frigate to substantially boost Pakistan's defence capability.
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4 children test HIV positive in MP govt hospital; contaminated blood transfusion suspected
Satna/Bhopal (PTI): Four children suffering from thalassemia have tested HIV positive at Satna District Hospital in Madhya Pradesh allegedly due to contaminated blood transfusions, officials said on Tuesday.
The case is four months old and an investigation is underway into it, an official said.
Officials suspect the use of contaminated needles or blood transfusions for the spread of infection to the children.
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MP Health Minister Rajendra Shukla told reporters in Bhopal that he has ordered a probe into the matter and sought a report.
“It is also being investigated whether the blood transfusion took place in other hospitals also or only in the government hospital,” he said.
The affected children, aged between 12 and 15 years, received blood transfusions from the hospital's blood bank, as per an official.
Devendra Patel, in-charge of the blood bank at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel District Hospital in Satna, said four children have tested HIV positive and an investigation is underway to determine how they got infected.
"Either an infected needle was used or a blood transfusion occurred. These are the two main reasons I believe. Blood transfusion seems to be the most likely cause," he told PTI Videos.
All these children suffer from thalassemia, and some have received 80 or 100 blood transfusions, he said.
A family member of one of the affected children said that their child was found to be HIV positive during a routine checkup about four months back, and he has been receiving medication, but it had proven to be of no use.
After taking the medication for HIV, the child starts vomiting, feels low and becomes ill, he said.
After the four children were detected with HIV infection, their family members were also tested and the results came out negative, he added.
The Opposition Congress targeted the government over the matter and demanded the resignation of Health Minister Shukla.
Speaking to reporters in Bhopal, Congress MLA and former minister Sachin Yadav claimed such incidents were continuously occurring in Madhya Pradesh.
Earlier, a case of toxic cough syrup came to light in Chhindwara, followed by incidents of rat bites at hospitals in Indore and Satna, and now children have been given HIV-infected blood, he said.
"The health minister is unable to manage the department. He should resign. A murder case should be filed against those responsible for the Satna incident," Yadav said.
Senior Congress leader Sajjan Singh Verma termed it a failure of the government. Chief Minister Mohan Yadav's government has no connection with ground realities, he charged.
"Somewhere rats are roaming in hospitals, somewhere children are being given HIV-infected blood. Instead of preventing HIV, you are spreading it. Mohan Yadav should wake up from his slumber. Children are the nation's heritage and should be taken care of," he added.
