‘IOR’s maritime security is about capacity building in island nations’
25 Oct 2014 12:31 AM GMT
Similarly, the South and East China Sea can soon become the Sea Lines of Communication for India as the country seeks to access Canadian oil and gas – in surplus now with the US supposedly becoming self-sufficient in such commodities. These Canadian commodities can travel through the Pacific Ocean flowing into the South China Sea, which in turn, opens out to the Indian Ocean.
‘The goal is about maintaining order in the region, so that issues like piracy or any other threat to security of the SLOC are mitigated,’ a top defence sources said. The Indian government has the ability to provide these nations some of the patrol boats and vessels of similar kind they need. It also has the ability to train their naval officials in Indian institutions.
The creation of Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS), brought to existence by the Indian Navy (IN) is a forum where all the nations of the regions congregate annually and create abilities to communicate with each other, creating a sense of interdependence. Australia is the current chair of the IONS, and will remain in office for two years.
The IN has concerns about China’s increasing ability to project power in the IOR, but the source say till the time they impinge on the security of the country, little direct action can be contemplated as they are in the international waters, where according to the Law of the Seas they are entitled to remain deployed.
But the IN is hopeful about its ability to maintain influence over the nations of the IOR. The source says while in the first stage, they were given assets to work with, nations like Mauritius are now even placing orders with Indian shipyards to build ships for them.
Issues like piracy that enable China to enlarge its footprint on the IOR need to be settled at the earliest with the help of the other nations in the region and India, so that there are no expansive operations.
Similarly, India sees its forays into the South China Sea in terms of ‘joint exercises’ with countries like Japan and Australia, besides the United States are based on the same of Laws of the Seas by which the Chinese can raise the surf in Indian Ocean. Additionally, supporting India’s increasing commercial interests like prospecting for gas and oil in the Vietnamese Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) is at the invitation of the host country.
As it appears to independent observers, these activities objected to by China in the past, are matters of dispute between them i.e. Vietnam and China, which does not impact India’s actions that are based on the invitation of a bona fide littoral nation.
‘The goal is about maintaining order in the region, so that issues like piracy or any other threat to security of the SLOC are mitigated,’ a top defence sources said. The Indian government has the ability to provide these nations some of the patrol boats and vessels of similar kind they need. It also has the ability to train their naval officials in Indian institutions.
The creation of Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS), brought to existence by the Indian Navy (IN) is a forum where all the nations of the regions congregate annually and create abilities to communicate with each other, creating a sense of interdependence. Australia is the current chair of the IONS, and will remain in office for two years.
The IN has concerns about China’s increasing ability to project power in the IOR, but the source say till the time they impinge on the security of the country, little direct action can be contemplated as they are in the international waters, where according to the Law of the Seas they are entitled to remain deployed.
But the IN is hopeful about its ability to maintain influence over the nations of the IOR. The source says while in the first stage, they were given assets to work with, nations like Mauritius are now even placing orders with Indian shipyards to build ships for them.
Issues like piracy that enable China to enlarge its footprint on the IOR need to be settled at the earliest with the help of the other nations in the region and India, so that there are no expansive operations.
Similarly, India sees its forays into the South China Sea in terms of ‘joint exercises’ with countries like Japan and Australia, besides the United States are based on the same of Laws of the Seas by which the Chinese can raise the surf in Indian Ocean. Additionally, supporting India’s increasing commercial interests like prospecting for gas and oil in the Vietnamese Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) is at the invitation of the host country.
As it appears to independent observers, these activities objected to by China in the past, are matters of dispute between them i.e. Vietnam and China, which does not impact India’s actions that are based on the invitation of a bona fide littoral nation.
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