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China has supplied Myanmar with 42 percent of its weapons and military equipment over the past 19 years. Russia gave 43 percent. India has ceded a submarine to Myanmar with its sights set on China in a context where there are no concerns in the region about Russia at this time. Analysts hope that New Delhi’s naval diplomacy will help achieve its Indo-Pacific goal on a large scale. This is according to an analysis on Asia by Nikkei, the world’s largest business magazine based in Asia.
Meanwhile, discussions and analysis are taking place across various sectors on the strategic impact of the Myanmar submarine acquisition in Bangladesh. Quoting India’s defense and strategy analyst NC Bipindra, Nikkei’s analysis said: “It is noteworthy that after neighboring Bangladesh bought two Ming-class diesel-electric submarines from China in 2016, Myanmar plans to buy those. submarines (of India) “. By the way, Bangladesh also has plans to build a submarine base in cooperation with China.
There was an impression of concern in the analysis of the Indian media about the purchase of Bangladeshi submarines from China. Last year, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between Bangladesh and India on the installation of radar systems off the coast of Bangladesh.
The diesel-electric submarine that India gave to Myanmar was called INS Sindhubir. It is the first Indian submarine to be commissioned in the Indian Navy in 1986. It has been redesigned at Hindustan Shipyard, a state defense shipbuilder. At a maximum speed of 18 nautical miles, it can travel to a depth of 300 meters. The submarine has been named ‘UMS Min A Thein Kha Thu’ in the Myanmar Navy.
Anurag Srivastava, a spokesman for the Indian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said in a recent briefing that cooperation in the maritime sector is part of India’s diverse and growing engagement with Myanmar. In this context, India has given the Myanmar Navy the INS Sindhubir kilo-class submarine.
The Chief of the Indian Army, Manoj Mukund Naravane, and the Foreign Secretary, Harsh Vardhan Sringla, visited Myanmar on October 4-5. During the visit, the issue of cooperation with Myanmar in various fields, including the defense of India, was the subject of renewed debate. On October 15, the Myanmar Ministry of Defense and the Indian Ministry of Foreign Affairs officially announced the gift of the submarine.
According to Jens Information Group, a UK-based security and defense organization, the Indian submarine was a special attraction in the exercise conducted by the Myanmar Navy since October 15. It was probably delivered to India last February.
According to Jens, India wants to reduce China’s influence over its neighbors. From a security perspective, India’s neighbors, especially Myanmar, are now obtaining military equipment on easy terms and loans from China and India.
According to the analysis of the Nikkei Asia report, India has interests in Myanmar. According to Shamsad Ahmad Khan, a visiting associate member of the New Delhi-based Institute of Chinese Studies, supplying Indian submarines to Myanmar appears to be a well-planned strategy to counter China’s aggression. In doing so, India is clearly trying to balance its power with that of China in its eastern neighbor. Amid months of tension and tension on India’s border with China, New Delhi seeks to enhance the capabilities of its security and defense partners against the Chinese navy.
According to Pankaj Jhar, professor of defense and strategic studies at OP Jindal Global University, Myanmar now does not want to buy all of China’s military equipment. This has caused concern in Beijing. He said that Bangladesh is receiving submarines from China. Now Myanmar needs another type of submarine to stay ahead of Bangladesh.
Professor Pankaj Jha emphasized the need to strengthen the navies of all countries in the region as part of the Indo-Pacific strategy to deter China in the Bay of Bengal on a large scale. According to him, India is strengthening cooperation with other countries in the region, not just Myanmar.
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