Pakistan Strikes 'Dangerous Deal' With China As Asim Munir Makes BIG Demand In Exchange For Gwadar Port

Islamabad: The bond between 'Iron Brothers' Pakistan and Chin seem have weakened over the last couple of years with the United States seeking to re-assert its footprint in South Asia. The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which was already in the doldrums due to a variety of factors, seems to be one of the victims of this geopolitical re-juggling.   

What is Pakistan demanding from China?

Now, Pakistan seeks to extract significant concessions from China in exchange for the Gwadar base. Pakistan has requested that China provide it with nuclear-powered submarines possessing a "second-strike" capability. In return, Pakistan would grant China permission to utilize the Gwadar Port. This story was first broken by *Drop Site News*, an independent, U.S.-based news outlet. The organization claims to have reviewed classified Pakistani military documents before making this sensational assertion.

In this context, "second-strike capability" refers to the ability to launch a massive retaliatory attack even after an adversary has executed a "first strike" that destroys all of one's existing nuclear arsenal. Essentially, this entails possessing Ballistic Missile Submarines (SSBNs) capable of evading an enemy attack by remaining concealed in the ocean depths, from where they can subsequently launch nuclear missiles.

Pakistan—a nation that has historically met most of its defense requirements through a mix of appropriation and solicitation—put forward this demand during bilateral talks held between the Pakistani military and China in 2024. During these negotiations, the Pakistani delegation was led by the Chief of Army Staff, Asim Munir.

In early 2024, Pakistan privately assured Beijing that it would authorize the development of Gwadar into a permanent military base for the Chinese armed forces. Later that same year, it formally requested nuclear-capable submarines from China. Had this request been granted, Pakistan—which currently possesses the capability to deliver nuclear weapons via air and land platforms—would have achieved a "nuclear triad," thereby acquiring the capacity to launch nuclear strikes from land, sea, and air. China deemed this demand unreasonable, and the negotiations subsequently stalled.

*Drop Site News* originally reported this story on December 13, 2025. However, consider its most recent report—published on May 18—which references a top-secret diplomatic cable revealing that a senior official within the Biden administration was actively pushing for the removal of Imran Khan from office. This report presents a portrait of a nuclear-armed Pakistan engaged in tough bargaining with its two strategic partners—China and the United States.

This story, dated May 18, recounts the sequence of events that have shaped U.S.-Pakistan relations over the past five years, steering Washington and Islamabad away from mutual suspicion and toward a state of political rapprochement. While Pakistan was aligning itself with Washington on one front, it was simultaneously negotiating with China for strategic weapon carriers on another.

There are three types of submarines capable of carrying nuclear weapons: nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines, conventionally powered cruise missile submarines, or conventionally powered ballistic missile submarines.

It remains unclear from this *Drop Site* report exactly which specific capability Pakistan was seeking to acquire. However, it would come as no surprise if Pakistan had indeed pressed China to help it acquire such a capability.

How Does Pakistan Project Power on the Strength of Chinese Hardware?

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, China assisted Pakistan in developing a nuclear bomb. This is believed to have been the first clandestine transfer of nuclear weapons technology in which China provided Pakistan not only with highly enriched uranium but also with blueprints for a specific weapon—the CHIC-4 bomb.

This was a 12-kiloton nuclear fission device, the first test of which had been conducted in the 1960s. In the 1990s, China also sold Pakistan M-11 intermediate-range ballistic missiles to serve as delivery systems for these weapons. Utilizing these assets, Pakistan successfully acquired air- and land-launched nuclear weapons capabilities.

However, until now, Pakistan has lacked a sea-launched nuclear weapons capability. This was a capability beyond Islamabad's technical and economic means. Submarine-launched nuclear weapons constitute a formidable asset for retaliatory strikes. They provide any nation with the absolute assurance that, even in the event of a first nuclear strike against it, it can launch a devastating counter-attack against the aggressor, despite having sustained heavy damage itself.

Six nations globally possess a sea-based nuclear deterrent capability anchored by nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines. These nations are the United States, Russia, China, France, the United Kingdom, and India. Israel possesses a class of conventionally powered submarines capable of carrying cruise missiles, whereas North Korea possesses only a single conventionally powered submarine capable of carrying nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles.

In 2017, Pakistan claimed to have completed a "nuclear triad" following the successful test of a submarine-launched cruise missile (SLCM) with a strike range of 450 kilometers. However, given Pakistan's small fleet of active conventional submarines (totaling just five) and the limited range of the missile, this constituted merely a rudimentary sea-based deterrent capability.

In 2014, members of India's security establishment assessed that the $5 billion Hangor-class submarine deal—Pakistan's largest defense acquisition to date—would endow Islamabad with the capability to launch nuclear weapons from the sea. Pakistan placed an order for eight S26-based submarines, which represent the Chinese variant of the Kilo-class submarine.

Of these, four were to be constructed in China and four in Pakistan. The first submarine of this class, PNS/M Hangor, was commissioned and inducted into service on May 4 of this year in Sanya, China. At that time...

Indian analysts believed that two of these four submarines would be large conventional submarines belonging to a special class designated 'S-30,' capable of carrying nuclear weapons.

The Chinese Qing-class is a unique conventional submarine possessing the capability to carry nuclear weapons.

This submarine can remain submerged for up to 30 days. It is capable of launching three nuclear-tipped cruise missiles—with a strike range of 1,500 kilometers—from its conning tower. These submarines were slated to be constructed at the Submarine Rebuild Complex in Ormara, located 353 kilometers west of Karachi.

However, according to a report by *Drop Site News*, it appears that this three-phase deal—which was intended to culminate in Pakistan acquiring a sea-based nuclear deterrent—failed to materialize. This occurred precisely when General Bajwa was steering Pakistan closer to Beijing and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

Asim Munir, who assumed the office of Army Chief in November 2022, has steered Pakistan closer to the United States and away from Beijing.

The Army Chief sidelined China's concerns regarding the security of Chinese personnel engaged in the construction of CPEC and allowed the second phase of the project to lose momentum. In August 2025, he publicly asserted that improved relations with the United States would not come at the expense of ties with China. However, the facts suggest otherwise. For Asim Munir, Trump's repeated use of the term "my favorite Field Marshal"—coupled with Islamabad's pivotal role in mediating between Iran and the U.S.—indicates that Pakistan is drifting away from the Chinese camp. Yet, as the *Drop Site News* report reveals, even in 2024, Munir remained open to striking a strategic deal with China—provided, of course, that the price was right.