Pakistan's navy has deployed a special force to guard a key port on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor or C-PEC. Task Force-88 is set to conduct security missions at Gwardar Port in the southwestern province of Balochistan.

A senior Pakistani navy official said securing the area is critical to the operation of the economic corridor. C-PEC has financial backing of around 46 billion US dollars, and construction on other major trade infrastructure projects is underway.