Pakistan close to buying eight Chinese submarines

The decision had been agreed “in principle”, the newspaper said, citing a hearing in the Pakistani parliament’s defense committee.

According to local sources, negotiations with China on the sale were at an advanced stage.

Neither China’s Defence nor Foreign Ministries immediately responded to a request for comment.

China and Pakistan call each other “all-weather friends” and their close ties have been underpinned by long-standing wariness of their common neighbor, India, and a desire to hedge against U.S. influence across the region.

China and Pakistan already have close defense ties and China has sold a large amount of military equipment to the country in the past. -Reuters