This is the preparation of the Indian Navy to face the challenge of China

According to recent news in the Indian media, India is focusing on increasing the capacity of its army, especially the navy, to counter China’s increasing interference in the Indo-Pacific region.

This effort by India came amid the ongoing border dispute with China for the past three years. Despite several rounds of talks between these two countries, no progress has been seen in resolving the border dispute.

India is continuously increasing military cooperation with other Asian countries to deal with China. To this end, in addition to including many new submarines in its naval fleet, India is modernizing the army’s equipment.

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To stop China’s increasing interference in the Indian Ocean, India is emphasizing increasing its maritime capacity. To do this, in addition to manufacturing submarines, it is increasing its cooperation with the countries of Southeast Asia.

Since the beginning of 2023, India has deployed 17 submarines. At the same time, China has about four times as many submarines as this one.

According to documents from a US think tank, China has 66 submarines deployed, including diesel submarines, nuclear submarines and ballistic missile submarines.

According to Hindustan Times, the Indian Navy will build three diesel submarines equipped with Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) technology in collaboration with the French Naval Group.

They will be built by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited, which has already built six Kalvari-class submarines along the lines of the French Scorpion-class submarine. The INS Vagir, the sixth submarine in this series, is likely to be launched in early 2024.

A report published on the India Today website quoted officials as saying: “This submarine is capable of carrying out multiple missions such as surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare, intelligence gathering, mine laying and surveillance, etc.”

However, it was also said in this report: “The combat capability of the Chinese Navy is estimated to increase to 400 ships by 2025 and to 440 ships by 2030.” At the same time, the Indian Navy will have to build at least 24 submarines to meet the 30-year submarine construction plan target.

In addition to increasing its underwater combat capability, India plans to accelerate its surveillance drone acquisition program.

According to another report in India Today, the Indian Navy deployed a leased MQ-9 drone in April 2023 to monitor the areas around the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. This drone will also keep an eye on Myanmar’s Cocos Island, where China is busy upgrading its military base.

In a report published in December 2022, it was said that India plans to purchase MQ-9 Reaper drones from the United States for all three parts of the army.

India has taken several steps to deal with China. These range from purchasing military equipment to building infrastructure on the Chinese border. But recently it has been noted that India is working fast to increase its naval capacity.

In March, the Government of India approved a proposal to buy new helicopters, missile systems and weapons. The cost of these schemes is Rs 70,500 crore. Demand for 80 percent of these goods comes from the Indian Navy.

The Indian Navy has requested the supply of BrahMos supersonic missiles, utility helicopters and electronic warfare systems.

The BrahMos missile system has been jointly developed by India and Russia. India has signed a $375 million deal with the Philippines to sell BrahMos missiles.

According to a report in the Hindustan Times in April, India is concerned about China’s movements in the South China Sea. India does not want the Chinese Navy to increase its activity in the Indian Ocean as well.

This is the reason why India is increasing military cooperation with East Asian countries like the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam. These countries have border disputes with China in the South China Sea.

The ASEAN-India Maritime Exercise (AIME-23) of the ASEAN countries and the Indian Navy concluded on May 8. For the first time, these war exercises were held in the South China Sea. These exercises were inaugurated at Changi Naval Base in Singapore.

Indian media reported that Chinese ships were allegedly seen near the area of ​​military exercises.

In another unexpected development, in February, the Indian Navy submarine INS Sindhukesari made a stop in Indonesia, the largest country in Southeast Asia. This was the first visit to Indonesia by an Indian warship.

India and Japan participated in a joint maritime military exercise called JIMEX-22 in the Bay of Bengal last year. Although this war drill has been going on since 2012, Indian and Japanese media insisted that this war drill is happening at a time when China’s influence in the Indo-Pacific region is increasing.

Apart from the naval combat exercise, India and Japan will also jointly complete the first air combat exercise ‘Veer Guardian’ in early 2023.

In Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post, it was said that the importance of this exercise is ‘symbolic’, because the military of the two countries is not unified, but it will send a message to China.

Recently, India’s Foreign Minister S Jaishankar called the relationship between the two countries “abnormal” due to the ongoing tension between the two countries’ militaries in eastern Ladakh. However, Chinese Foreign Minister Ching Gang described the situation on the Indochina border as “generally stable.”

On the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Goa, the two countries also held talks on the border dispute on May 4 and 5. Despite all efforts, the ongoing stalemate between the two countries has yet to be resolved.