Pakistan is set to incorporate its first Hangor-class submarine into its fleet. With its completion date set to be 2026, this will be the first submarine part of the fleet to be built by the Chinese. This will be the first step to counter India’s dominant power in the Indian Ocean and extend Beijing’s patron client relationship to be maritime. However, beneath the “strategic parity” symbolism around the submarine, stands another troubling reality for the region. With the aid of the China Pakistan increasingly threatens India’s interests in the Indian Ocean and with the recent militarization policies, India remains vigilant.Chinese investment in Pakistan’s submarine capabilities is part of the larger $5 billion military aid and infrastructure investment deal to Pakistan. This includes 8 Hangor-class diesel electric submarines (Chinese model and design) to be delivered by 2028, 4 of which will be constructed in China and the other 4 will be completed by Chinese engineers at the Karachi Shipyard which further embeds Chinese control into Pakistan’s military naval supply chain. This “ self-support” concept is primarily a subterfuge Chinese military control narrative.Ashraf, Pakistan’s Navy Chief, has referred to this patronage as a means of enhancing the country’s power to “patrol” the North Arabian Sea and progress into the Indian Ocean. His unwavering confidence is an assurance of Beijing’s ambitions in the region forever with Pakistan as its client.Beijing’s investments in Pakistan's maritime infrastructure, included in the Belt and Road Initiative’s China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), are also building China’s maritime infrastructure. This 3,000 kilometre corridor runs from Xinjiang province to the Arabian Sea’s Gwadar Port, giving China direct access to the Middle East and allowing China to circumvent the volatile Strait of Malacca.China's supposed "economic cooperation" efforts are, in actuality, strategies designed to encircle India. China’s investments in Pakistan encircle India while simultaneously expanding naval influence in Myanmar, growing reach in Bangladesh, and conducting maritime surveillance in the Indian Ocean.Hangor-Class Submarines: Symbolism and StealthHangor-class submarines are dieksel-electric attack submarines with design. These submarines consist of an air independent propulsion (AIP) technology, allowing submarines to sustain under 15–20 days while increased range propulsion άhed to sustain while recharging with surface exposed to air every few days.Every submarine in this class weighs 2,800 tonnes, is 76 meters long, and is equipped with six 21-inch torpedo tubes that can launch torpedoes and Babur-3 cruise missiles with ranges of 450 kilometers. This class also resurrects the name "Hangor," referring to the submarine that sank India’s INS Khukri during the 1971 war; a rare Pakistani naval success that Islamabad chooses to reminisce and even romanticize.More than nostalgia, the Hangor-class exhibits Islamabad’s growing reliance on Chinese arms. In the years 2020 to 2024, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) reported that over 60% of all Chinese arms exports were to Pakistan, making Pakistan the largest recipient of Chinese military supplies.India's ConcernsIndia is faced with multiple challenges with the deployment of the Hangor-class submarines. To begin with, their air-independent propulsion (AIP) system offers Pakistan greater capabilities for stealth operations, particularly in the deeper regions of the Arabian Sea. To add to that, with the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and Chinese access to Gwadar growing, the Pakistani navy is poised to increasingly serve as an auxiliary to Beijing in the Indian Ocean region.In a crisis situation, China is poised to use Pakistan’s naval bases to surveil and even control maritime access to India, and in doing so, meld Pakistan’s naval ambitions with China’s power projection in the Indo-Pacific. This serves to deepen the existing strategic coupling.Pakistan’s acquisition of Chinese unmanned underwater vehicles, AI systems, and advanced electronic warfare technologies signals the possible start of underwater surveillance missions along the Indian maritime lines of communication, which India must watch closely. While claiming ‘defensive capability,’ Islamabad conveniently disregards the rapidly extending Chinese influence in Pakistan’s militarily, which under the pretext of modernising Pakistan, is spreading its footprint further. Despite such militaristic overhauls, Pakistan’s navy is still in a weak position. Even a complete fleet of the HANGOR class is unlikely to counterbalance the significant military and technological supremacy that India’s navy holds over Pakistan’s fleet.Responding to the Disparity of Scale and Capability.The Indian navy boasts a fleet of over 290 war vessels, including two operational aircraft carriers and 18 submarines, with 65 surface escort vessels, which gives the Indian navy the ability to operate in Blue Water and sustain oceanic operations. For Pakistan, with only 121 vessels and 8 submarines, operational capacity remains in the coastal waters only.India’s Kalvari class submarines, with a more modern design based on the French Scorpène class, are more agile and smaller than the HANGOR class submarines. India is in the closing phase of military development on the Indian AIP which will advance Indian submarines, closing the operational endurance gap with that of Pakistan’s submarines.Kalvari-class submarines carry German-built torpedoes and French Exocet anti-ship missiles, both combat tested, and seamlessly integrated into India's naval doctrine. Other than submarines, India's maritime strength also includes carrier battle groups, providing and unmatched reach and flexibility in the Indian Ocean.INS Vishal, India's third aircraft carrier, is expected to once again expand operational reach. Combined with possible nuclear propulsion and the advanced launch systems being developed for it, it would enable India to also maintain three carrier groups simultaneously and cover the more important naval chokepoints from the Strait of Hormuz to the Strait of Malacca.India’s naval strategy places equal importance on operational control through the P-8I Poseidon aircraft, maritime satellites, and underwater sensors for surveillance and early warning. From the underwater sensors, India knows well in advance the positions of enemy submarines including the Hangor-class, and is always ready to counter any threats.Pakistan’s psychological boost from a submarine program only exposes the ignorance of strategic realities. Islamabad’s military reliance on Beijing to dictate interests is not edifying. The "indigenisation" narrative surrounding construction of half the submarines in Karachi, is simply an oversell of a questionable self-sufficiency narrative. It does not mitigate reliance on Chinese input, which includes subsidized components, training, and maintenance for decades to come.India’s shift towards developing self-reliance continues to strengthen domestic shipbuilding capacities. Sixty vessels under construction in Indian shipyards are reinforcing capabilities and resilience.The bigger pictureThe Hangor-class deal is about power projection and not about Pakistan’s security for China. For Pakistan, it is another attempt to punch above its weight using borrowed technology. For India, it is a reminder that Beijing’s military capabilities are expanding to new platforms close to its maritime borders.While these submarines will generate headlines in Islamabad, the strategic equation does not change. India’s navy continues to hold the decisive advantage in firepower, reach, and autonomy. The Hangor-class may dive deep, but it will never bridge Pakistan’s significant gap with India’s maritime might.
