Now there is panic import of arms and ammunition. A new urgency to acquire the Rafale combat aircraft. A tremendous fillip to indigenization of a wide range of military hardware and banning their import. And last but not the least, there is the Indian navy’s ambitious expansion plan. Strategic experts believe that by 2030, the Indian Navy will become the third most powerful blue water navy in the world. Judging by the navy’s expansion plan, there is reason to doubt it.

The Government has now sanctioned Rs. 42,000 crore for building six stealth attack submarines indigenously with foreign collaboration. These apart, 18 diesel-electric submarines will also be built. Three nuclear submarines are also being built in addition to Arihant. These will enable the navy to phase out the aging fleet of Akula and Scorpene class submarines. Nuclear submarines have several advantages over the diesel-electric subs. They can remain underwater for months – much longer than a diesel-electric sub can (about three months). And with their nuclear SLBMs, they can create havoc on the enemy.

In 2015, the Indian Navy prepared its Maritime Security Strategy Document, replacing the 2007 document titled Freedom to Use the Seas: India’s Maritime Military Strategy. The big change in the 2015 document is that it gives emphasis on building up the navy as a hard power force. In a way it is a message to India’s present and potential adversaries in the sea. It gives an insight into India’s evolving maritime policy and its proposed force posture. It aims at a force level of 200 ships (from the present fleet strength of 130) including 24 attack submarines and 500 aircraft.

The document envisages at having three aircraft carriers by then. India now has only one aircraft carrier, INS Vikramaditya which is a renovated and refitted Russian ship named Admiral Goroshkov. It was decommissioned by the Russian Navy in 1996. India acquired it at an enormous price of $2.35 billion. Another aircraft carrier, INS Vikrant, is under construction and is expected to be commissioned in 2022. Leaving out the aging INS Vikramaditya, India needs at least two more aircraft carriers.

India had to re-frame its naval policy keeping in view China’s intention to dominate the Indian Ocean – India’s home turf. It may be borne in mind that the size of India’s Exclusive Economic Zone in the Indian Ocean is 23,05,143 sq. kms. India has to safeguard it against any predatory navy. It needs to have an effective maritime counterforce to dissuade any country from meddling in its waters.

In this task the submarines, especially nuclear submarines, have an important role to play. They have the advantage of being underwater for several months, and literally can “carry enough nuclear weapons to destroy a continent.” They can travel undersea over a decade without refuelling. They have also to discharge another important duty: electronic espionage during peace time. So, India’s decision to have a submarine strength of 24 diesel-electric and six nuclear subs is perfectly justified. When these six nuclear subs are commissioned, India will have the nuclear “triad” in the true sense of the term. India has to keep it always in mind that in case of a war, she will have to defend herself entirely on her own, without counting on any friendly nation.

No doubt that the Indian Ocean is a strategic priority for both India and China. At the moment, China is asserting its sovereignty over the South China Sea and the East China Sea. But after consolidating her position on these two regions, China will definitely turn to the Indian Ocean and try to get the upper hand over India. Its bid to dominate the Indian Ocean stems not only from its long-range imperial ambition. It is also necessary to ensure that her oil supply is not threatened by India and her friends. The Malacca Strait is in Indian Ocean and an important commercial shipping route through which comes eighty per cent of China’s oil imports. If India, either alone or along with some friendly nations blockades the Malacca Strait, China will be in serious trouble. .

China has already got a direct access to the Arabian Sea on India’s western coast through Pakistan and acquiring the Gwadar port. It is now going to lay a railway line from Kunming to two ports in Myanmar. Once this line is completed, China will have an access to Bay of Bengal in India’s eastern coast also. It is at Vishakhapatnam in the eastern coast that India’s Eastern Naval Command is based. Further down south is the Andaman and Nicobar Island where India’s only tri-services command is based. For all these reasons India has to have a strong navy to protect its interests and checkmate the Chinese navy in the Indian Ocean. (IPA Service)