On 14 August 2025, China launched the PNS Mangro, an export variant of its Type 039B Yuan-class submarine, for Pakistan. Built at the Wuchang Shipyard in Wuhan, it is the third vessel in Pakistan’s Hangor-class series. For Beijing, the Yuan-class is both an industrial flagship and a cornerstone of its naval export strategy. For New Delhi, however, the Mangro underscores a widening undersea asymmetry with the potential to recalibrate Asia’s maritime balance. India’s submarine fleet has slipped below minimum operational thresholds, while its role in regional subsurface capacity-building remains marginal. Reports mention India’s initiatives, at an incipient stage, of the discreet assistance to Taiwan’s indigenous programme, coupled with offers to modernise Vietnam’s Kilo-class fleet and to establish submarine-support infrastructure in the Philippines. India would require a rethink over its pattern of overpromising and underdelivering; instead, an effort to rebuild its arsenal while shaping Asia’s undersea deterrence requires urgent attention.
Submarines and Strategy: Shaping Deterrence in the Indo-Pacific
