With China pushing its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), India has decided to intensify strategic engagement with ASEAN and other major global power centres to shape an alternative paradigm of connectivity and maritime security

According to Singh, the subsequent exercise with the US, Japanese, South Korean and Philippine navies further reinforced the message that India is fully invested in ensuring a free and Open Indo-Pacific and will work across maritime geographies without any hidden agenda.

Exercising with friendly navies are critical to India’s maritime interests as it builds trust, confidence and a shared understanding of the region’s transnational security concerns, be it countering the sub-conventional threats or synergistic one’s efforts for Search and Rescue (SAR), HADR etc., say maritime experts.

Sharing his views with the Financial Express Online, Commodore Anil Jai Singh, (Retd), Vice President, Indian Maritime Foundation, says, “The recent participation of Indian Navy ships INS Kolkata and INS Shakti at the Fleet Review in Qingdao to mark the 70th anniversary of the PLA Navy sent a very positive signal of India’s inclusive approach in shaping the maritime contours of the Indo-Pacific.”

According to Singh, the subsequent exercise with the US, Japanese, South Korean and Philippine navies further reinforced the message that India is fully invested in ensuring a free and Open Indo-Pacific and will work across maritime geographies without any hidden agenda.

Exercises with the US and Japanese navies (Ex Malabar) and also participating in multilateral exercises like RIMPAC which includes all these navies is a confidence building measure which the Indian Navy must do more in its present operating philosophy of multi-mission deployment, he points out.

“The India Navy is very highly regarded as a professional combat ready, full spectrum capable force and is therefore sought after by other navies to exercise with. Although this does put a strain on the available resources, it is to the credit of the Navy that it can continue to maintain this intense operational tempo” says Singh.

As part of New Delhi’s `Act East’ policy, engagement with countries including Japan, the Philippines, and South Korea is concerned, it is important that every opportunity is taken to exercise, opines another naval officer.

With China pushing its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), India has decided to intensify strategic engagement with ASEAN and other major global power centres to shape an alternative paradigm of connectivity and maritime security.

New Delhi has reaffirmed its cooperation in the maritime domain with the ASEAN regional bloc, which has Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, and Vietnam as member countries.

As has been reported earlier, the Indian Naval ships on their return from China had also visited Cam Ranh Bay, Vietnam, and Busan, South Korea.

In South Korea, they had participated in the Field Training Exercise (FTX) under the aegis of ADMM-PLUS. And on its way back, in ADMM-PLUS MS FTX Phase I (ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM-Plus) Maritime Security) exercises earlier this month off South Korea with Navies of countries including Brunei, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and the US.