India to deploy warships in South China Sea to counter Beijing

• Shubham
• 04 August, 2021

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By: Shubham Ghosh

INDIA is sending a naval task force to the South China Sea this month to expand security ties with friendly nations, officials on Wednesday (4) said, suggesting that New Delhi is not hesitant to play a bigger role in regional efforts to counter China, its major rival in the region.

According to Reuters that reported about the development, the Indian military has been traditionally wary of irking the Chinese side but the mood has changed in the wake of clashes between the two neighbours’ troops on the land border last year.

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The report said the Narendra Modi government has gone closer to the United States while pushing back against Beijing.

Four ships to be deployed: Indian Navy

The Indian Navy said in a statement that four ships, including a guided-missile destroyer and a missile frigate, will be deployed to southeast Asia, the South China Sea and the western Pacific region for a period of two months.

“The deployment of the Indian Navy ships seeks to underscore the operational reach, peaceful presence and solidarity with friendly countries towards ensuring good order in the maritime domain…,” the navy said.

The South China Sea region is a critical zone when it comes to the rocky relationships between the US and China with the former rejecting what it calls unlawful territorial claims by the latter. China also has territorial clashes with a number of its smaller neighbours in the region over territorial claims.

In June, a US aircraft-carrier group led by the USS Ronald Reagan went to the South China Sea as part of a routine mission. A British carrier group is also due to conduct exercises in the Philippine Sea in August.

The Indian ships will participate in annual joint drills during the upcoming exercise and it will involve the US, Japan and Australia off the coast of Guam, sources in the navy said, Reuters added.

These four countries constitute the Quad, an informal group that the Joe Biden administration in the US is promoting to counter an assertive China.

“These maritime initiatives enhance synergy and coordination between the Indian Navy and friendly countries, based on common maritime interests and commitment towards Freedom of Navigation at sea,” the navy said in a statement.

Beijing has in the past criticised multilateral military manoeuvres as moves to destabilise the region.