Tension increases due to Pakistan’s submarine plan in the Bay of Bengal, Indian Navy on alert

Knews Desk- Pakistan’s possible plan to deploy modern ‘Hangar-class’ submarines in the Bay of Bengal with China’s help has raised concerns over maritime security in South Asia. According to reports, this move is believed to be a part of China’s ‘String of Pearls’ strategy, which is said to be aimed at encircling India in the Indian Ocean region.

According to the information, Pakistan is preparing a fleet of eight ‘Hangar-class’ submarines based on the technology received from China, one of which has recently been inducted into the Pakistani Navy. These submarines are equipped with Air-Independent Propulsion (AIP) technology, which gives them the ability to operate underwater for long periods of time and makes them extremely difficult to detect.

This matter came into more limelight after the statement of a senior officer of Pakistan Navy, in which he talked about establishing presence even in remote maritime areas like the Bay of Bengal. After this statement, Indian security agencies and Navy have become alert.

According to the report, this step of Pakistan is considered to be an attempt to become active in the Bay of Bengal for the first time after the 1971 war. At that time, the Indian Navy had destroyed the Pakistani submarine PNS Ghazi near Visakhapatnam, after which Pakistan limited its naval activities in the region.

Under the new plan, Pakistan is trying to establish a strategic presence in the Indian Ocean region by increasing its maritime capability. However, experts believe that this task will be very challenging for Pakistan, because to reach the Bay of Bengal, a long distance will have to be covered and there will also be a serious problem of logistics support.

The Indian Navy is already in a strong position in this region. India has P-8I Poseidon maritime surveillance aircraft, MH-60R Romeo helicopters and a fleet of modern warships capable of detecting and neutralizing submarines. Apart from this, the strong presence of India’s nuclear submarines and Eastern Naval Command also makes the region secure.

Experts believe that this strategy of Pakistan is linked to China’s regional ambitions, but serious questions remain on the success of this plan in front of the surveillance and technical capability of the Indian Navy.