The Indian attitude has put it in confrontation with China and the countries that support the Chinese presence in the region for economic and security interests. The clash of interests and competition among the major stakeholders is making the IOR a highly volatile region, in turn, affecting economic and trade activities conducted through the Indian Ocean.
To safeguard its interest, India has negotiated several agreements with different littoral states of the Indian Ocean, primarily aimed at obtaining military access to their bases. Recently India’s National Security Advisor Ajit Doval attended a trilateral Maritime Security Meeting between India-Sri-Lanka and Maldives. The trilateral maritime security meeting was held to discuss issues relating to the security situation in the IOR. The meeting was significant because India holds a massive influence on both of these South Asian island states. However, the nature of this relationship has been full of ups and downs.
In the past, both Sri-Lanka and Maldives had maritime security relations with China, which paved the way for Chinese naval presence in the region. Since India is not in a position to counter China on its own, it is following two different strategies: 1) alliance and security partnerships with countries of the IOR and 2) gaining extra-regional powers that hold significant influence in the Indian Ocean most notably the US.
India has also made agreements with Indonesia to access strategically located deep sea Sabang Port and Oman’s Damuq Port. It is also negotiating with Bahrain to formalize maritime security partnership.
India has significantly enhanced its strategic partnership with extra-regional powers as well. In this regard, its partnership with the US, Australia, and Japan under “Quad” is quite notable. India has signed various logistic cooperation agreements with France and the US separately. These agreements allow the Indian naval forces to access the US military base in Diego Gracia and the French base in the Reunion Island.
The western countries and the US in particular consider the growing Chinese influence a threat to their shared common interests. Therefore, India has been designated as a balancer by the US that would serve their mutually beneficial interests. The US has signed several strategic agreements such as LEMOA, COMCASA, and BECA with India that would significantly enhance their military cooperation. Also, France has proposed the “Paris-New Delhi-Canberra Axis” in the newly created “Indo-Pacific” region.
To implement these partnerships into something physical and concrete India has been rapidly modernizing its naval forces. Over the next decade, India has planned to invest an additional US$51 billion to build surface ships and submarines for its Navy. India also intends to expand its indigenous ship industry to a worth of US$5 trillion by 2025. Indian Navy has built nearly 140 naval warships. These include; an aircraft carrier, nuclear-capable submarines, attack submarines. Other than these, some 240 aircraft and UAVs have also been built. Recently, the Indian Navy has acquired two predatory drones on lease from the US. These drones would be used for surveillance in the Indian Ocean and the Ladakh Border.
India is also investing heavily in anti-submarine warfare. It has recently bought weaponry worth US$155 million from the US. These include; AGM-84L Harpoon Block II air-launched missiles, MK 54 lightweight torpedoes, and P-81 maritime patrol aircraft. These developments indicate the Indian pursuit of a naval dominance strategy. Furthermore, this also comprehends how India is exploring new options for naval dominance.
The approach of global powers specifically the US to empower India as a balancer against China would likely amplify an arms race in the region. This would ultimately affect the economic and security interests of small powers in the region. It would become more difficult for the regional states to accept India as the sole security guarantor vis-à-vis China in the IOR because of the adverse relations.
