Friday, January 13, 2017

China helped Pak successfully launch Babur 3 Cruise Missile - A Military Nexus out in the open

SOURCE:

http://www.inuth.com/world/south-asia/explainer-china-role-in-the-successful-launch-of-babur-3-by-pakistan-and-why-it-should-worry-india/

China is believed to have played a key role in the successful launch of Babur 3 by Pakistan, which is worrisome for India.

China helped Pak successfully launch Babur 3 Cruise Missile - A Military Nexus out in the open

EXPLAINER: China's role in the successful launch of Babur 3 by Pakistan and why it should worry India

By

Dhairya Maheshwari

How ever, Pakistan’s entry into the elite group of nuclear powers is sure to pose serious headache for arch-rival India, with both nuclear-capable countries having fought three wars since 1947.

The launch of Babur-3 also marks a new phase in relations between India and China, as multiple security experts believe that Beijing is prominently helping Islamabad develop its weapons and nukes arsenal. There is a perception in India that China’s growing support for Pakistan’s military is aimed at checking India.

So, India has several reasons to worry about from the success of Babur 3.

China-Pakistan military nexus against India out in the open

Security experts believe that Pakistan couldn’t have developed Babur 3 missile without support from China. “Babur 3 is quite similar to Chinese C802 missile in many respects. It is highly likely that there was technology transfer from China to Pakistan over the last few years,” AB Mahapatra, the Director at Centre for Asian Strategic Studies-India (CASS-India) reckoned during an interview with InUth.

Mahapatra said that China was trying to balance India’s growing prowess in the realm of intercontinental ballistic missile technology.”China’s ICBM program still has room for improvements, and India’s successful testing of Agni-V recently brought almost all of China in the range of India’s nuclear-capable missiles. Beijing is now employing the strategy of helping Pakistan to counter India’s growing military prowess,” he said.

According to Mahapatra, India’s successful launch of 5000-km range Agni V missile was the likely “trigger” behind Pakistan’s testing of Babur 3, which he says was done with Chinese support. An editorial in China’s state-controlled Global Times was highly critical of India’s Agni-V test and warned that Beijing could help Pakistan develop advanced missile systems if New Delhi continued with its ICBM programme.

“The timing of Babur 3’s launch is critical,” Sarral Sharma from New Delhi-based Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies (IPCS) said. Also a member of a group that’s been calling for more people-to-people contacts between India and Pakistan, Sharma noted that Pakistan’s testing of the submarine-launched missile on the heels of India’s Agni-V test launch couldn’t be mere coincidence.

There is believed to be a consensus in India’s security and intelligence establishment that China helping Pakistan to upgrade its naval capabilities has got to do with Beijing’s massive economic stake in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

The $46 billion Chinese-funded project ends at the Arabian Sea port of Gwadar in Pakistan. Mahapatra from CASS-India said, “Gwadar is definitely going to be the base where Pakistan and China are going to dock their nuclear capable submarines.”

How does Pakistan compare to India in sea-based warfare capability?

While China is trying hard to bring Pakistan’s navy on par with that of India’s for reasons of its own, Pakistan has still got some catching up to do if it has to match Indian Navy’s capabilities out in deep waters.

“Pakistan embarked on a navy modernisation program just five to ten years ago. India’s nuclear capable INS Arihant submarine way superior to Pakistan’s subs,” Mahapatra said.

Mahapatra even expressed doubt about Pakistan being able to successfully use Babur 3 with its navy’s Agosta90B diesel submarines. “Pakistan may not be able to make it to the nuclear triad club at all.” Interestingly, there were reports in Indian media that Pakistan may have faked the launch of Babur 3. There, however, hasn’t been any official statement from India to verify the claim. Also read: Was Pakistan’s Babur-3 missile launch fake?

Mahapatra, however, added that India would be faced with serious security challenges if Pakistan is able to mount its Babur 3 missile on its subs. “Babur 3’s striking range of 450 km could make some of India’s oil rigs and even Mumbai vulnerable.”

Babur-3: Salient features of Pakistan’s nuclear capable submarine cruise-missile

Babur-3 is the sea-based variant of Ground Launched Cruise Missile (GLCM) Babur-2 which was successfully test fired by Pakistan in December 2016.

By: Express Web Desk | New Delhi | Updated: January 10,

2017

Pakistan on Monday successfully test fired its nuclear capable submarine cruise-missile Babur-3 from an undisclosed location in the Indian Ocean. Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif has congratulated the nation and the military on the first successful test-fire of the SLCM, his office said in a statement.

“The successful test of Babur-3 is a manifestation of Pakistan’s technological progress and self-reliance,” according to the statement. The Babur-3 missile was fired from an underwater, mobile platform from an undisclosed location in the Indian Ocean and hit its target with precise accuracy, the Inter Services Public Relations, the media wing of the Pakistani military said in a statement.

The test was conducted in the presence of Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) General Zubair Mahmood Hayat, DG Strategic Plans Division (SPD) Lieutenant General Mazhar Jamil, Commander Naval Strategic Force Command (NSFC), senior officials, scientists and engineers from Scientific Strategic Organizations.

WATCH VIDEO | Pakistan test-fires first nuclear-capable submarine cruise missile Babur-3

Pakistan test-fires first nuclear-capable submarine cruise missile Babur-3

Also Read | Pakistan test-fires first nuclear-capable submarine cruise missile Babur-3

Babur-3 is the sea-based variant of Ground Launched Cruise Missile (GLCM) Babur-2 which was successfully test fired by Pakistan in December 2016.

Here are the salient features of the missile Babur-3:

* The missile has a range of 450 km.

* It has underwater controlled propulsion and advanced guidance and navigation features, duly augmented by Global Navigation, Terrain and Scene Matching Systems.

* The missile features terrain hugging and sea skimming flight capabilities to evade hostile radars and air defenses, in addition to certain stealth technologies, in an emerging regional Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) environment

* The missile, in land-attack mode, is capable of delivering various types of payloads and will provide Pakistan with a Credible Second Strike Capability, augmenting deterrence

Thursday, January 12, 2017

Pakistan Likely To Acquire Chinese Nuclear Attack Submarines

SOURCE:
http://www.ndtv.com/world-news/pakistan-likely-to-acquire-chinese-nuclear-attack-submarines-ndtv-exclusive-1647370

[ Logically Maldives is part of India & should be occupied by India forthwith with Force, if Indians delay the occupation these Islands will be subsequently handed over to PAKISTAN by the Chinese -- Vasundhra]

Pakistan Likely To Acquire Chinese Nuclear Attack Submarines
BY
NDTV

[ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3-77TnwcS4 ]

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A Chinese Type 093 'Shang' class submarine, possibly the same boat to have docked in Karachi

NEW DELHI: A Chinese Navy nuclear-powered attack submarine which docked at the Karachi harbour in May took aboard Pakistani naval officers and sailors to give them a first-hand glimpse of how the submarine works. This was not a simple case of access being given to a close military ally.

The Indian Navy is convinced that it is a matter of time before Islamabad leases a Chinese nuclear submarine. The Pakistan Navy personnel who were on the submarine may be part of their first team to train on Chinese nuclear submarines, it is believed.

On Friday, NDTV broadcast images of an advanced 'Shang' class nuclear submarine which was placed, through a satellite image, at Karachi last year. The images were first spotted by a satellite imagery expert (@rajfortyseven) who posts on Twitter.

A Chinese nuclear submarine docked in a Karachi harbour in May 2016 photographed on Google Earth.

Displacing 7,000 tonnes when it operates underwater, and armed with six torpedo tubes, the Shang class submarine is part of the latest generation of nuclear attack submarines designed and commissioned by China. The submarine also has the ability to fire cruise missiles - including the Babur missile that Pakistan yesterday claimed to test-fire off its coast, a claim that has been disregarded by the Indian Navy.

Pakistan's acquisition of a 'Shang' class submarine will have an impact on the naval balance in the Indian Ocean, which is currently skewed heavily in favour of the Indian Navy.

India's navy is significantly larger and more capable than its regional rival.

Unlike conventional diesel electric submarines that Pakistan has been operating for decades, a nuclear attack submarine has practically unlimited endurance. Its nuclear reactor is unlikely to require refueling during the life of the submarine, which means the 'Shang' can theoretically operate indefinitely under water. Even though realistically, it will be limited by the amount of food and supplies it can carry for its crew.

The mechanical reliability of key systems also limits the submarine.

The Pakistani acquisition of a 'Shang' class submarine is meant to counter the Indian Navy's 'Akula-2' class nuclear attack submarines which New Delhi has been leasing from Russia.

Considered among the most powerful submarines of its class, the Akula-2 - named INS Chakra - has been leased for 10 years and will be returned to Russia within four years, by which time the Navy will have acquired a second submarine of the same class. The terms were recently worked out between the two countries.

Now for the first time, details are emerging on how the Indian Navy has been able to track the movement of Chinese submarines, which first started operating in the Indian Ocean in 2013, a clear signal of how Beijing intends to expand its strategic reach to include areas of the Indian Ocean which New Delhi has typically considered its own backyard.

The P8-I is a US-made maritime surveillance aircraft

The Chinese 'Shang' class submarine, which docked in Karachi, entered the Indian Ocean through the Malacca straits off Singapore between April 19 and 20. Picked up almost immediately by the Indian Navy's US-made Boeing P8-I maritime surveillance aircraft, the submarine - accompanied by a large 10,000 ton fleet support and replenishment tanker - was constantly tracked on its way to Karachi.

The P8-Is dropped sonobuoys across the projected route of the submarine. Sonobuoys - small listening devices that transmit the sound of submarines to reconnaissance aircraft operating overhead - are key to detecting submarines.

Interspersed with the 'passive' sonobuoys deployed by the P8-Is, were 'active' sonobuoys which ping the ocean with sound waves reflecting off the submarine surface.

Using a combination of both sensors, the Navy's P8-Is were able to force the Chinese submarine into making evasive maneuvers.

The exact location of the submarine was also passed on to India's own submarines, which were also monitoring the movement of the 'Shang'.

The 'Shang' entered the Karachi harbour on May 19, its exact location constantly plotted by the Indian Navy's assets, which have determined that the sound radiated by the Shang class is higher than the considerably quieter new generation American or Russian submarines, which are tougher to detect.

The 'Shang' and its support ship spent seven days in Karachi, leaving on May 26. It was during this period that Pakistani Navy sailors and officers were allowed access to one of the Chinese Navy's most sensitive assets.

It's still unclear if the 'Shang' returned to Karachi to disembark the Pakistani Naval personnel or whether they were transferred to another vessel as the submarine proceeded south along the Indian peninsula before setting course for the Malacca straits.

On June 14, the 'Shang' submarine exited the Indian Ocean region.

Senior Navy officers have pointed out that the deployment of Chinese Navy submarines in the Indian Ocean coincides with active efforts to establish a ring of ports to strategically encircle India.

On Sunday, the Maldives leased China an island for 50 years at just 3 million dollars.

[ Logically Maldives is part of India & should be occupied by India forthwith with Force, if Indians delay the occupation these Islands will be
subsequently handed over to PAKISTAN by
the Chinese - Vasundhra]

Earlier, China had also invested heavily in the Ihaven atoll in the Maldives chain, which lies just south of the southernmost Indian island in the Arabian Sea, the Minicoy Islands.

Located on a key East-West shipping route, Ihaven could give the Chinese the possibility of berthing naval ships and submarines very close to the Indian mainland.

As significantly, China has secured an 80% share of the Hambantota deep sea port in Sri Lanka as well as land for a new industrial zone in the area. According to the plan, land in this area will be ceded to Beijing for the next 99 years in exchange for $1.1 billion towards debt relief.

Pakistan and China, meanwhile, continue to work closely on developing the strategically located Gwadar port, central to the $46 billion China-Pacific Economic Corridor (CPEC) that is under development. China also continues to expand its naval base in Djibouti situated in the Horn of Africa.

In August last year, Pakistan State Radio announced a deal to acquire eight Chinese conventional diesel-electric powered submarines and Bangladesh has just received two submarines for the first time from China.

TERRORISM :- UNIFIED ISLAMIC FRONT OF SUNNI ALLIANCE TO FIGHT NON- MUSLIM "KAFIR TERRORISM"IN KASHMIR

SOURCE:
http://www.inuth.com/world/south-asia/10-things-to-know-about-muslim-nato-headed-by-pakistan-former-military-head/

THIS IS AN ATTEMPT BY PAKISTAN FOR
UNIFIED ISLAMIC FRONT
OF
SUNNI ALLIANCE
TO FIGHT
NON- MUSLIM "KAFIR TERRORISM"
IN
KASHMIR

With General Raheel Sharif in charge ISI is bound to have a free hand to induct in Kashmir international Islamic terrorist fighters on the lines akin to to the methodology applied in Syria & Iraq.

10 things to know about 'Muslim NATO', headed by Pakistan's former military head

Pakistan seems to have shed its reluctance to join a formal military alliance as a former army chief took leadership of a NATO-style group.

The entry of Pakistan into the Saudi Arabia-headquartered group could lead to increased support for Pakistan from other Sunni Muslim countries, when it comes to Kashmir or any other dispute with India.

Pakistan’s recently retired army chief General Raheel Sharif will become the first head of a Saudi Arabia-led military alliance of Islamic countries, put together to fight Islamic State and other terror outfits gaining stronghold in the region.

According to reports, the Riyadh-headquartered military grouping which has been dubbed as the“Muslim NATO” in sections of the media is comprised of 39 countries in Asia and MENA (Middle-East North Africa) regions with predominantly Muslim populations.

The announcement of General Raheel Shareef heading the organisation was made by Pakistan’s defense minister Khwaja Asif during an interview with a local TV channel last week.

Here are 10 things about the Muslim military alliance that you need to know:

The idea of Islamic Military Alliance to Fight Terrorism (IMAFT) was first mooted by Saudi Arabia in 2015 to counter the growing reach of ISIS in the region. Among several times, Pakistan was reportedly invited to this group during the Riyadh led air-strike campaign in Yemen against Iran-backed Houthi rebels, who had overran large swathes of the country with little resistance faced from Yemen’s government forces. Originally, the military group had 34 members.

Pakistan had reportedly refused to participate in the Saudi Arabia-led military campaign in Yemen, with many Pakistan-watchers believing that Islamabad’s close energy cooperation with Iran held it back from joining a military venture with Saudi Arabia.

On the other hand, Saudi Arabia is one Islamabad’s largest benefactors and has provided aid to the tune of $1.5 billion in recent years, which put Islamabad in a quandary as to which side to go on. Saudi Arabia and Iran are strategic and religious rivals, with both the powers claiming leadership of the Islamic world.

Pakistan, which has one of the strongest armed forces among Islamic countries, has in the past also been wary of sending its troops to overseas military campaigns. According to a Pakistani defense expert quoted by The Guardian, the “guiding principle” of Pakistani troops, who have been serving in Saudi Arabia since 1960s, has always been that they would serve only within the territorial boundaries of Saudi Arabia.

According to some news reports, Islamabad’s decision to join IMAFT has been met with criticism from the Shia Muslim community of Pakistan, which makes up around 20 percent of the population of the South Asian country. The move risks further worsen the Shia-Sunni divide in the Pakistani landscape. According to a news report, banned Sunni group Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat has expressed support for Shareef’s appointment as head of the group.

Whether the group will operate on the lines of UN Peacekeeping Force or follow a NATO like command is not known yet.Doubts have also been raised over the objectives behind the military group, which is basically led by Sunni Arab monarchies hostile to Iran, Syria and Yemen.

The IMAFT, should it decide to do the bidding of a few Gulf monarchies, could led to political tensions and possibly military confrontation in the Middle East as the idea may not be welcomed by Shiite powers in the region led by Iran.

Some Twitter users were of the view that Pakistan’s entry into the grouping would result in support for the country against arch-rival India on the Kashmir dispute.

(Source: Twitter)

According to an AFP report from back in March 2016, the lion’s share of funding for the new military group will come from oil-rich Saudi Arabia.

Beside Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, other major powers in the IMAFT include Turkey, the UAE, Oman, Bangladesh and Nigeria.