5 March 2019 02:01 pm
The Pakistan Navy (PN) on Tuesday said it had thwarted an attempt by an Indian submarine to enter Pakistani waters.
The latest development comes after an increase in tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbors.
“The Pakistan Navy is always ready to guard its territorial waters and is capable of responding to any kind of aggression with full force,” said the navy.
“This great achievement has been a proof of Pakistan Navy’s superior capabilities.” The armed service further said that this is the second time since November 2016 that naval forces have caught the Indian Navy trying to enter the country’s territorial waters.
“The Indian submarine was not targeted keeping in view Pakistan’s policy of peace,” said a spokesperson from the PN and added that India must learn from this incident and “move towards peace”.
The video of the Indian submarine was made when it came upto periscope depth, however, the PN would have been tracking it for a longer time with the assistance of aerial anti-submarine warfare assets.
The bulk of the Indian Navy’s undersea fleet is composed of up to 10 diesel-electric Kilo-class submarines, known as the Sindhughosh-class in Indian service.
The Indian Navy also operates a nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine (SSBN), the INS Arihant, which was manufactured locally after decades of delay.
Earlier in 2016, the PN successfully repelled an Indian submarine from entering the country’s territorial waters.
The unsuspecting submarine was detected and localised south of Pakistani coast on November 16, 2016. Despite the submarine’s desperate efforts to escape detection, it was continuously tracked by navy fleet units and pushed well clear of Pakistan waters.