- Tuesday, May 07, 2024
By: Shubham Ghosh
INDIA has focused on flexing its maritime muscles to counter the rising influence of China, one of its major rivals in South and Southeast Asia. From deciding to deploy warships to the South China Sea to reportedly setting up a military base in an island in Mauritius in the Indian Ocean, New Delhi has come up with a series of moves.
And now, it has conducted sea trials on its first indigenous aircraft carrier INS Vikrant. The ship, which has been constructed by the Cochin Shipyard Limited in the state of Kerala, began trials of its coast on Wednesday (4). It will be India’s second aircraft carrier in operation after INS Vikramaditya, which is the Soviet-made Admiral Gorshkov that India bought in 2004.
ALSO READ: India to send warships to South China Sea
The Indian Navy said the country can now “join a select group of nations with the capability to indigenously design and build an Aircraft Carrier, which will be a real testimony to the ‘Make in India’ thrust of the Indian Government”.
Is India building a military base in Mauritius island?
Vikrant, which is monickered IAC-1 and is likely to be commissioned to the Indian Navy sometime in the later half of 2022, has been named after India’s iconic aircraft-carrier that had played a key role during the 1971 war and has now been decommissioned. The ship was launched in August 2013 and its motto is “Jayema Sam Yudhi Sprdhah“, which is taken from the Rigveda and can be translated as “I defeat those who fight me”.
The Indian Navy said apart from the 262-metre long carrier Vikrant, 44 other sips and submarines were being built indigenously. It also said that it has sought a third carrier from the government with navy chief Admiral Karambir Singh saying the force could not remain “tethered”, AFP reported.
China, which is eyeing to increase its influence in the Indian Ocean region in India’s backyard, is currently building its third aircraft carrier.
On Monday (2), the Indian Navy said that it was sending a task force comprising four ships to southeast Asia, South China Sea and wester Pacific for two months of exercises with countries like the US, Australia, Japan, Vietnam and the Philippines.
The deployment “seeks to underscore the operational reach, peaceful presence and solidarity with friendly countries towards ensuring good order in the maritime domain and to strengthen existing bonds between India and countries of the Indo Pacific,” the navy said.
The current US administration led by president Joe Biden is promoting the ‘Quad’ alliance with India, Japan and Australia to counter China.
