SHANGHAI: China has launched a second advanced warship - the Type-054 Class Frigate - for Pakistan on Saturday, according to a statement from the Pakistan Navy.

The warship, constructed by China, is the country's most advanced frigate, as stated in a report by a Chinese publication (The Global Times).

According to Zhang Junshe, a senior research fellow at the PLA Naval Military Studies Research Institute, this new version has a "better defence capability and is equipped with an improved radar system and a larger amount of missiles with a longer range", adding that the "Type-054A frigate also has world-class stealth capability".

The launching ceremony was held at the Hudong Zhonghua Shipyard in Shanghai, attending by the Chief Naval Overseer (China) Commodore Azfar Humayun and senior Chinese officials, according to the Pakistan Navy.

Commodore Humayun, addressing the ceremony, stated that the addition of the new warships to the Pakistan Navy's fleet would "significantly enhance Pakistan’s maritime defence and deterrence capabilities", and "acknowledged the commitment, hard work and timely completion of this important milestone project by M/s CSTC and HZ Shipyard, Shanghai despite ongoing global pandemic".

According to the statement, the warship will be "one of the most technologically advanced surface platforms of Pakistan Navy's fleet, fitted with the latest surface, subsurface and anti-air weapon systems", adding that they will be fitted with a "range of electronic warfare, air and surface surveillance and acoustic sensors integrated through state of the art Combat Management System".