On Tuesday, the Indian and Australian navies concluded bilateral talks and agreed to boost collaboration, “marking a significant milestone” in the relationship, according to India. A week earlier, three Indian Navy vessels arrived in Singapore on their way to Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam, part of a wider regional patrol.
Between late March and early April, the Indian Navy “embarked on a 23-warship deployment, its largest-ever in the Indian Ocean,” and deployed 11 of its 16 submarines for the first time in three decades. In March, India’s external affairs minister firmly reiterated India’s support for the Philippines amid Manila’s ongoing South China Sea row with Beijing. India has also recently conducted joint naval exercises with ASEAN, France, and the Seychelles.
The flurry of activity reflects India’s relatively recent aim of deepening maritime engagement and countering China’s growing influence in the Indian Ocean and increased aggression in the South China Sea.
Making waves on the high seas
In 2015, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi released India’s Security and Growth for All in the Region doctrine, a “close cousin” of the later Indo-Pacific strategies of Canada and the U.S.
Since then, U.S.-India naval co-operation has only grown: India has purchased helicopters and anti-submarine aircraft from the U.S., and the two countries have expanded information-sharing on Chinese naval activity. American warships have also started docking at India’s Chennai Port for repairs and maintenance.
Kurt Campbell, recently confirmed as U.S. deputy secretary of state, said last year that the U.S. and India share the “most important bilateral relationship on the planet.” And despite a raft of irritants between New Delhi and Washington, maritime co-operation seems to have hit a high-water mark.
