The Chinese government has decided to sell its first and only aircraft carrier to Pakistan. More specifically, the Liaoning will be sold to Pakistan for a yet-undetermined price in order to upgrade the Pakistani Navy’s capabilities, reported Chinese and Russia media on Saturday. The addition of an aircraft carrier to the Pakistani Navy’s arsenal will make it more competitive with respect to its rival India, which has an operational aircraft carrier.The Liaoning was first commissioned for the Soviet Navy in the 1980s and was expected to enter service in the early 1990s. The dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, however, frustrated these plans, and the unfinished structure was sold to Ukraine. The hull ended up in China, which rebuilt and recommissioned the ship and declared it operational only three years ago, in 2016. The Chinese Navy plans to replace the Liaoning with up to six nuclear-powered aircraft carriers. The Chinese government announced its plans to have six carrier battlegroups by 2035. Aside from being potent machines of naval warfare, aircraft carriers serve as the ideal foreign policy tools. For example, just the appearance of an American aircraft carrier close to the shores of a country could deter actions hostile to US interests. “China’s nuclear-powered aircraft carriers are expected to join the navy by 2035, bringing the total number of carriers to at least six—although only four will work at the front line. The country needs to keep developing until it is at the same level as the United States,” said Wang Yunfei, a former Chinese naval officer.