COMMENT
China is putting India's two nuclear submarines (INS Arihant and INS Chakra II) at Fleet Base East, Vishakhapatnam, Bay of Bengal, Indian Ocean, under regular surveillance and kinetic threat of sinking. Chinese SSNs and SSKs frequenting the Bay of Bengal provide platforms for this surveillance, but the long China to Bay of Bengal (and return) missions are exhausting for Chinese crews. The missions are also well observed, through Malacca Strait/Andaman Sea sensors and Chinese submarine and submarine tender port stops in nearby Sri Lanka.
So the two Bangladeshi Mings, partly manned (and likely part officered) by Chinese crews offer more regular, more covert, surveillance opportunities. China sold the Mings to Bangladesh at the heavily discounted $100 million each, partly because of this bi-nation crewing value to China.
YOUTUBE REPORTS
On March 12, 2017 Bangladeshi Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina, officially commissioned the 2 refurbished Chinese built Type 035G (NATO designation "Ming") class submarines, BNS Nabajatra and BNS Joyjatra.
Youtube 1.
This November 2016, 7 minute, Youtube here in English is an excellent analytical discussion of Why did Bangladesh Buy from China? Journalist/Editor, Bharat Bhushan interviews the Indian ex-High Commissioner to Dhaka/Bangladesh, Pinak Ranjan Chakravarty.
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Youtube 2.
The following Youtube I think is mainly spoken in Bengali
with a long stretch. 6:10 to 7:40. in English.
50 seconds obvious update modification to the bow sonar
1:23 good shot of the 2 Mings out of the water on a lift ship
2:00 Bangladesh initially interested in buying Songs ($250
million per Song) and S20s but
couldn’t
afford even the Chinese discount prices
2:25 the last two
Mings China built have AIP [probably used as testbeds for the Yuan’s Stirling
AIP]
2:30 Bangladesh paid $203 million Total for the 2 Mings
3:10 Bangladesh’s confrontations
with Myanmar/Burma around 2008 finally convinced
Bangladesh to buy subs.
There were also, yet unproven, suspicions Myanmar might buy subs
3:40 Bangladesh needs assistance from many Chinese crew for operation of the 2
Mings
5:00 the 2 Mings may just be the first of a larger Bangladeshi submarine service
6:10 to 7:40 gives Specifications, especially for weapons and propulsion in English
7:18 admission the Ming’s quite old Yu-1 torpedos were “reverse engineered” by China from
Russian Type 53-51 torpedos
Please connect with Submarine Matters' China selling two Type 035 Ming-class submarines to Bangladesh of December 24, 2013.
Pete
Hi Pete
ReplyDeleteIn India or Bangladesh, highly educated people do not understand work in the field. They are elite and need not to listen to local input.
Is mixed crew system possible? Bengali language and Chineses are perfectly different laungages. Submarine is not a cargo ship, and quick and accrurate communication is needed especially in emergency. It is hard to believe.
Regards
S
Hi S
ReplyDeleteBengali crew and maintenance people may well speak English. If the 10 or so Chinese crew/officer have also learnt English that may be the language Bengalis-Chinese communicate in.
Regards
Pete
Hi Pete,
ReplyDeleteI think for Bangladesh, the Type035 Mings are great for them to get started. It could be classed as a starter submarine and something they can use to learn, train and groom them for more complex ones like the Yuan class SSK, Improved Kilo class SSK, Amur class SSK.