Islamabad splurges on defence hardware

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Islamabad splurges on defence hardware

By Farhan Bokhari and James Lamont in Islamabad

Published: May 22 2011 18:00 | Last updated: May 22 2011 18:00

Pakistan’s economy is close to its weakest in the country’s 64-year history. Annual economic growth has slumped to little more than 2.4 per cent, the fiscal deficit is yawning and support from the International Monetary Fund is an essential crutch.

Regardless of the floundering economy, the shopping list of its powerful military grows and grows.

Although a long-time ally of the US, Pakistan increasingly views China as a supplier of choice.

Yusuf Raza Gilani, Pakistan’s prime minister, returned at the weekend from a four-day visit to Beijing with the promise of 50 fighter jets, worth about $1bn, and undertakings to develop his country’s navy.

These, above power plants, dams and nuclear assistance, were the trophies of a visit intended to reassure Islamabad of its chief regional ally in the wake of the humiliation of the US raid on Osama bin Laden – the darkest moment for Pakistan’s army since the loss of East Pakistan in 1971.

China has over the past two years cemented a relationship with Pakistan’s air force over the supply of JF-17 aircraft and the offer of J-10 stealth fighters.

Moreover, Abbas Raza, the Karachi-based head of Pakistan’s navy, is determined to extend Pakistan’s strategic partnership with Beijing from the skies to the Arabian Sea.

Pakistan’s defence ministry officials are negotiating the purchase of six new submarines. Delivery is expected over a decade. If agreed, the supply of submarines, worth as much as $3bn, would be the largest defence purchase between the two neighbours.

Admiral Raza explains that Pakistan is opening “a doorway for our Chinese friends” to broaden their presence in the Indian Ocean.

The attraction for Beijing is proximity to energy resources in the Gulf.

Western diplomats in Islamabad say China is quietly consolidating its partnership with Pakistan, but on commercial terms rather than unconditional assistance. “In the past decade, the Chinese have shown a growing interest in the region. The Chinese have worked quietly with Pakistan to gradually build up their presence,” says one western ambassador in Islamabad.

Some regard the Chinese engagement as a test-bed for Chinese military exports and not, as yet, a threat to neighbouring countries, such as India. They say China’s support for Pakistan may delay what threatens to become an inner crumbling of the country’s institutions and economy. They also expect China to project its navy into the Indian Ocean, regardless of Pakistan’s allegiance.

China has financed the deep-sea port at Gwadar in western Pakistan, near Iran and close to the straits of Hormuz at the eastern end of the Gulf. It has also sold four naval frigates and accompanying helicopters to Pakistan for $750m.

Han Xiao Hu, the senior captain who led Chinese vessels in an exercise off Karachi this year, defends co-operation as wanting to “promote peace”.

“The Chinese are new to this region and we welcome their presence,” said one Pakistani official. “China’s growing presence serves to reinforce China’s capacity and interests well beyond its shores, and Pakistan, of course, is very keen to see the Chinese here.”

For Pakistan, a country with parlous public finances already forced to hold back on a planned purchase of three German submarines, China offers a cheaper option and long-term credit.

“China has come a long way in acquisition and mastering of technology. Besides, in the current economic situation [of a global economic slowdown], quite a few western countries may well be willing to sell technology to the Chinese for money,” says Syed Pervez Shahid, a retired lieutenant general and former senior Pakistani military commander.

Others are less certain that China’s military support is guaranteed. Disquiet over the killing of the al-Qaeda leader has put the relationship between the US and Pakistan militaries under enormous pressure.

Military assistance – which funds arms purchases – is likely to come under scrutiny from the Obama administration and Congress. Likewise, swelling military orders at a time when the country is suffering crippling power shortages might provoke domestic questions about the army’s reluctance to embrace the austerity forced upon most of the country’s 180m people.

Additional reporting by Kathrin Hille in Beijing

FT.com / Asia-Pacific / Pakistan - Islamabad splurges on defence hardware

 

[Pioneerfirst]

As far as our defence expenditure is less than 3%(2.6% in 2010-2011) we should not worry.We have increased our education spending(up to 2.3%) too but people do not note it.Pakistan is not introducing any new weapon in the region.Our neighbours have much more advance weapons with huge number so what we are doing is self defence.

 

[VCheng]

The correct figures are 1.2% on Education, and 16% on Defence for this past year.

 

[anonymous123]

To be honest i think Pakistan should hold back the spending on military and build up the economy, those nukes should be able to keep Pakistan safe for quite sometimes and is probably cheaper as deterrent.

 

[somebozo]

Keep your house armed even at times of famine. Said the Holy Prophet.
With great security comes great economy but money should be going in to internal security. SUbmarines and fighter planes are not the need of hour.

But why dont we think about building the literacy and infrastructure to support growth and economy and then buy weapons as well local R/D instead of importing boxes from abroad??

India as of current is not an immideate millitary threat but an economic one. India's Pakistan fobia runs in three phases.

First phase, it is obessed with "glorious india" and return it to its past glory demands destruction of Pakistan at any cost.

Second phase, as is economy picks up its becomes more concentrated at maintaining peace and stablity to spur local growth rather than fighting petty differences.

Thirds phase, as India resurges with economic might it eyes the central asia region for its energy riches and Pakistan as a traditional foe becomes a road block. At this point India uses its political clout and economic leverage to beat Pakistan into submission without firing a shot.

Game over..

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KARACHI:
Pakistan is getting a good deal, Defence Minister Ahmad Mukhtar will tell you. Instead of paying $80 million per piece for the American-built F-16s, the JF-17 Thunder fighter jets will cost us about a fourth of that, between $20 and $25 million per piece.

The deal is so good, the minister says, that we’ve ordered 50 of the JF-17s to be delivered in the next six months.

How much would that cost us? Between $1 and $1.25 billion. That doesn’t sound awfully expensive for national defence in itself but how else could we spend about $1.25 billion?

Education

About seven million children in Pakistan are not enrolled in primary schools, according to Pakistan Education Task Force. With $1.25 billion, The Citizen’s Foundation, a private NGO that runs schools for underprivileged children, could educate 1.8 million of them for three years in over 7,000 schools built from scratch. Of course, if it was spent more wisely on already constructed schools, it could possibly resolve Pakistan’s education emergency.

Health

The Saudi government built basic health units at a cost of Rs13 million each in quake-affected a reas. That means instead of 50 fighter jets, we could have 8,173 basic health units, or over 1,400 fully-equipped, 50-bed hospitals.

Infrastructure

Lack of infrastructure – roads, airports, public transit systems – is a serious constraint on Pakistan’s development. Meanwhile, the floods destroyed the already-existing highway network in the country. For $1.25 billion, the National Highway Authority could build approximately 2,500 kilometres of brand new, four-lane highways or 1,250 kms of world-class, six-lane, access controlled motorways. That’s more than three times the length of the famed Islamabad-Lahore motorway.

Of course, it could alternatively be spent on the much-needed Gwadar airport, 13 times over!

And if I were to be selfish and think just about Karachi, it could pay for 80% of the Karachi Circular Railway’s cost, or give the city a modern bus rapid transit network, four times. That’s real splurging.

Power

Each megawatt (MWe) of power produced by a thermal plant costs about $1 million in plant construction etc, on average. $1.25 billion would mean we add an additional 1,250 MWe of electricity to our starved network. Of course, there is no guarantee we’d be able to produce and then use it since lack of electricity is not due to lack of installed generation capacity. But if you’re jingoistic enough, one could also use the 50 fighter jets money for an additional nuclear reactor at Chashma that would produce 340 MWe of electricity.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 21st, 2011.
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