STRATEGIC INTERESTS GROW WITH MILITARY PROFILE

India is taking at long-term (2030-40) look at its strategic interests in Southeast Asia in the expectation that its role in the region will grow with the increase in its military profile.

Besides protecting its oil and gas exploration interests in South China Sea under contracts with the Vietnamese government, New Delhi has a strategic partnership with Hanoi. It trains Vietnamese military personnel and is even preparing to supply four naval patrol vessels to Hanoi.

As well, there have been reports that India may also sell its BrahMos cruise missiles, developed in collaboration with Russia, to Vietnam and other Southeast Asian countries.

The importance India attaches to the strategic partnership with Vietnam has been underlined by four bilateral visits involving senior ministers of both countries in less than a year. New Delhi has also extended a US$100-million line of credit to Vietnam for defence procurement.

Besides Vietnam, New Delhi is looking at some other Asean countries including Myanmar as potential importers of its weaponry. India earlier planned to export defence helicopters to Myanmar but opposition from Britain scuppered the deal.

India and Indonesia also share good defence relations in terms of training and bilateral exercises. The same is true for Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia.

India is in the process of developing Tejas, a multi-role single-engine light combat aircraft; Akash, an air-defence system; and Prahar, a missile with a range of 150 kilometres. These weapons could cost much less than what other countries including China are quoting for similar weapons.

New Delhi feels that with the increase in its military profile it will have a major role not only in ensuring freedom of navigation and energy security in the South China Sea, but also in building “open, inclusive and rulesbased security architecture in the Asia-Pacific region”.

However, it also has affirmed its view that Asean should play an important in making sure that disputes in the Asia-Pacific region are resolved through dialogue and not unilateral shows of force.

Defence Minister Rao Inderjit Singh reiterated that view at the recent Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, a major gathering of military and security figures from around the region.

“We intend to meet the expectations of our friends within Asean who want India to play a more proactive role in helping address traditional and non-traditional security threats in Southeast Asia and the wider Asia-Pacific,” he said.