The flagship of the Indian Navy, Vikramaditya, and the American supercarrier Nimitz, along with two destroyers from the Australian and Japanese navies, will conduct full-spectrum exercises off the coast of Goa as part of the Malabar war games of the November 17-20.
The two groups of aircraft carriers, with MiG-29K fighters aboard the Vikramaditya and F-18 fighters aboard the Nimitz, will participate in war games, while the participation of the other two countries, which are, such as India and the USA. ., Members of the Quad. grouping, will strengthen multioperability in exercises of complete mastery. It is also expected to help the four countries understand the ethics and level of training of the navies, commanders and personnel of each.
The exercise will take place in a fairly congested environment with at least 70 foreign warships patrolling the area between the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Sea. The warships of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy are not in the vicinity, but not too far away, apparently conducting anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden.
According to top naval commanders, the Indian Navy is fully deployed on both the eastern and western coasts and is prepared for contingencies should the situation deteriorate in the East Ladakh region. Analysts say it is clear that Quad members are committed to keeping the sea lanes of communication open for navigation and are ready to meet the challenge posed by the PLA Navy by imposing restrictions on the South China Sea.
As the Indian Navy is expected to commission the local INS Vikrant aircraft carrier along with its second nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine, INS Arighat, by next year, India will be able to project energy from the Straits of Malacca to the Gulf. from Aden and beyond, the analysts added.
Under the command of Admiral Karambir Singh, the force’s focus has also been on the rapid development of military infrastructure in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands so that India can project power well beyond the Straits of Malacca. The navy is also interested in building a third aircraft carrier to become a true blue water navy.
While there is intense debate among national security planners about the feasibility of a third aircraft carrier at a time when so-called combat weapons and long-range ballistic missiles are the order of the day, the navy’s argument is that a rising power like India cannot. be tied to the shore. This argument makes sense, analysts say, as China’s influence in Africa, the Middle East and the Persian Gulf under the Beltway Initiative has grown with Beijing leveraging its control of debt in these countries.
With China reaching the Indian Ocean via Pakistan and Myanmar, the navy wants India’s maritime and commercial interests to be protected by three aircraft carriers, one for the Arabian Sea, the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean. The counter argument from national security planners is that India should simply convert some of its 1,062 island territories into permanent military bases to influence events in the region.
With the US, India, Australia, and Japan communicating through deployed assets, liaison officers at each other’s naval commands, and Indian Ocean Monitoring Centers, the Quad, the analysts added, is definitely a force to be reckoned with. in mind in the Indo-Pacific with situational awareness from both West Asia and Africa.
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