In what exposes the nervousness of Pakistan, the terrorist country is reported to be unlikely to take part in the maritime parade that will Mark the 70th Anniversary of the Chinese Navy. The maritime parade is going to be held later this month. Earlier, the Pakistan Navy was expected to send at least two of its ships to attend the high profile event. However, Pakistan is suddenly reported to have decided against sending its vessels.
The Pakistani decision reportedly comes in the background of heavy Indian Navy presence in the Arabian Sea. It must be noted that reports about Pakistan’s decision to withdraw from the maritime parade comes after the Foreign Minister of Pakistan, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, made a baseless claim that India was planning another attack on Pakistan.
It must be noted that there was an escalation on tensions between India and Pakistan after Pakistan-sponsored Jaish e Mohammed had carried out a dastardly terror attack on a CRPF convoy in the Pulwama district in the month of February. Few days later, India launched pre-emptive airstrikes against JeM terror training camps in Balakot, Pakistan. India made up its mind to keep the terrorist country on its toes. Last month, the Indian Navy had given a statement which disclosed that its frontline assets were deployed in northern Arabian Sea following rising tensions between India and Pakistan. The naval build up had included an aircraft carrier, nuclear-powered attack submarines and several warships. Pakistan was clearly on the backfoot. India has kept Pakistan on the run ever since the tensions started escalating between the two countries. The way the Indian Navy has made its presence felt seems like an excellent strategy to play mind games with Pakistan and the strategy is clearly working.
The manner in which Pakistan has decided to skip the Chinese Navy anniversary celebrations exposes the faultlines in the Pakistan Navy’s capabilities. It seems that Islamabad has a very low count of naval assets. It is shocking that the terrorist country cannot even manage a couple of naval ships and its assets are stressed out facing India’s naval build up in the Arabian Sea. Pakistan Navy is so badly stretched out that it is facing a clear deficit of assets. On the other hand, India has decided to send two of its naval warships, INS ‘Kolkata’ and INS ‘Shakti’ for taking part in the maritime parade. INS ‘Kolkata’, a stealth destroyer, which has been sent for the event, is a frontline warship of the Indian Navy. Despite the heavy build up in the Arabian Sea, India does not seem to be having much of an issue in sparing a couple of warships for the major event.
Pakistan’s decision to skip the maritime parade and India’s decision to take part in the event speaks volumes of the differences in assets and capabilities of the two Navies. While the Indian Navy was able to spare a frontline assets even after a build up in the Arabian Sea, Pakistan which is clearly on the backfoot could not manage even an ordinary warship. Pakistan is clearly nervous and powerless even as India has decided to keep the terrorist country on its toes and show Pakistan its real place.
