The seas are getting as complex as the land, if not more so, while the strategic contestation in the high waters is becoming higher than a tsunami. And as New Delhi is gearing up to become a major sea power, albeit rather late compared to its adversaries, it is making an attempt to take a quantum leap to make up for the loss it faced when the maritime domain was not given as much importance as the land boundaries.
India’s latest move to deliver the Brahmos missiles to the Philippines, which is now being ruled by a clearly anti-China government, is a welcome step, but will this change India’s security stature in the region vis-à-vis China is the question that needs to be addressed. In fact, it needs to be assessed whether augmenting defence exports to partner countries will bring anything more than revenue. India has to also see to it that its ambitions to become a net security provider in the Indo-Pacific materialise as it sells indigenous arms to its friendly partners.
India may be emerging as a credible arms exporter, thanks to the Narendra Modi government’s push for ‘atmanirbharta’ or ‘Make In India’ in defence, but New Delhi has a long way to go before it can even match up to the Chinese. Under President Xi Jinping, China has become the world’s second-largest defence spender with an estimated budget of $296 billion in 2023 while India comes fourth with an allocation of $84 billion, according to the latest data by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
Last month, China unveiled its defence budget and announced a 7.2% increase over 2023, doubling allocations since 2015 even as its territorial disputes with the Philippines and Australia grow. It’s needless to say why China is increasing its defence spending even as its economy faces a slowdown. This is also pushing Beijing’s competitors like India to spend more on arms and armaments.
As India goes on an aggressive path to export some defence items to friendly countries, it needs to also focus on enhancing domestic defence production. Unless that is done, it will never be able to compete with China, which also faced challenges like production-related problems, archaic technology and redundant manpower in the late 90s, as India is doing now. India has a long way to go before it can become fully self-sufficient in advanced hi-tech platforms and weaponry.
On the other hand, India – not ranked among even the top 20 defence exporters – continues to be the top defence importer in the world with Russia being its top supplier.
Apart from Russia, India is also heavily procuring arms from France and Israel, according to SIPRI.
As India sets a target to more than triple its annual defence exports to Rs 35,000 crore by 2024-25, New Delhi is looking to sell the Brahmos missiles to some more countries, apart from fighter jets, armoured vehicles, offshore patrol vessels and guns.
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While India is exporting defence items to countries like the Philippines to augment arms exports, this will do little to enhance New Delhi’s image as a net security provider.
Last year, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said India has emerged as a regional power and net security provider in the Indo-Pacific, but it has yet to arrive in that position. That can only happen when India begins to confront its adversaries like China openly, and not shy away from naming Beijing in global and multilateral forums.
India needs to also effectively leverage its Quad partnership with Japan, the US and Australia to assert itself as a security behemoth. For that, it has to bring in a military aspect to the grouping – something that all members, except India, want.
Earlier this month, the Philippines, along with the US, Japan and Australia, held a naval drill in the disputed areas of the South China Sea and India was not a participant in that. The joint naval exercise was held in the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone. According to the Philippines’ armed forces, the drill showcased “commitment to strengthen regional and international cooperation in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific through interoperability exercises in the maritime domain”.
India’s absence only makes New Delhi look weaker and goes against the country’s plans to become a major sea power that China fears.
During his last visit to Manila, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said India strongly supports the “national sovereignty” of the Philippines amid surging tensions over China’s aggressive actions in the South China Sea. India has reiterated the 2016 arbitral award to the Philippines by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) against China. Hence, it was imperative for India to be a participant in the joint drill even though the four countries that did the wargames are treaty security partners. This could have been India’s opportunity but it missed it, and China is watching.
In yet another major development, the US Navy conducted two drills in the South China Sea in February, which included a joint naval exercise with the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force and the Royal Australian Navy. India was once again conspicuously absent from the wargames. It is true that New Delhi was not invited to both these drills, and that is a manifestation of the fact that India has a long way to go before it can be regarded as a formidable opponent in the Indo-Pacific by China.
[Disclaimer: The opinions, beliefs, and views expressed by the various authors and forum participants on this website are personal and do not reflect the opinions, beliefs, and views of ABP News Network Pvt Ltd.]
India Delivers Brahmos To Manila. But Nothing Changes For New Delhi In Indo-Pacific Vis-à-vis China
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25.04.2024
The seas are getting as complex as the land, if not more so, while the strategic contestation in the high waters is becoming higher than a tsunami. And as New Delhi is gearing up to become a major sea power, albeit rather late compared to its adversaries, it is making an attempt to take a quantum leap to make up for the loss it faced when the maritime domain was not given as much importance as the land boundaries.
India’s latest move to deliver the Brahmos missiles to the Philippines, which is now being ruled by a clearly anti-China government, is a welcome step, but will this change India’s security stature in the region vis-à-vis China is the question that needs to be addressed. In fact, it needs to be assessed whether augmenting defence exports to partner countries will bring anything more than revenue. India has to also see to it that its ambitions to become a net security provider in the Indo-Pacific materialise as it sells indigenous arms to its friendly partners.
India may be emerging as a credible arms exporter, thanks to the Narendra Modi government’s push for ‘atmanirbharta’ or ‘Make In India’ in defence, but New Delhi has a long way to go before it can even match up to the Chinese. Under President Xi Jinping, China has become the world’s second-largest defence spender with an estimated budget of $296 billion in 2023 while India comes fourth with an allocation of $84 billion, according to the latest data........
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