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The Times of India; World's Largest English-language Daily Newspaper
Topic Started: May 24 2014, 06:41 AM (277 Views)
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Vietnam, India boost naval ties to counter China
The guided-missile stealth frigate INS Shivalik made a port visit at Haiphong in northern Vietnam as part of a three-day "goodwill trip"

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New Delhi | February 2017 --The Indian Navy renewed calls on Thursday for more ship visits to Vietnam against the backdrop of a dramatic breakdown in relations between Vietnam and its giant neighbour, China.

The Indian and Vietnamese Governments have been gradually deepening military ties in the face of what they perceive as Chinese expansion in the South China Sea, but Hanoi has so far limited Indian port calls. Vietnamese military officials say they are intensifying talks with Indian counterparts over deeper naval engagement, but are sensitive to China's reaction to this development. "We're talking to India but it is too early to say how the tensions now will change our approach," one Vietnamese military source said. "We have a lot to consider." Alarmed at China's military rise and territorial assertiveness, Vietnam has broadened a host of military relationships in recent years, most notably with its Cold War-era patron, Russia, and India.

Vietnamese military officials also keep close ties with the Philippines, which is also locked in a worsening territorial dispute with China in the South China Sea. China and Vietnam fought a brief but bloody border war in 1979, and clashed at sea in 1988, when China occupied its first holdings in the strategic Spratly islands. The Indian Navy is also keen for more extensive exercises with Vietnam's expanding navy, which now includes state-of-the-art Russian-built ships and Kilo-class submarines.

It is the first time the Indian Navy's fleet has visited Haiphong this year. The city is the third largest city in Vietnam and has the largest port in the northern part of the country. India has invested in many of the region's oil and gas resources, reported the India Express. Tensions have risen between China and Vietnam over recent months after China deployed an oil rig to waters Vietnam claims as part of its exclusive economic zone in May, leading to a stand-off between Chinese and Vietnamese ships and widespread anti-China protests and rioting in Vietnam. Although Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi's, new government is strengthening economic ties with China, it has also made it clear that it will not compromise over territorial issues.

"We are interested in engaging with all our partners in the South China Sea and would welcome increased port visits with Vietnam," Union Minister of Defence, Arun Jaitley, stated. "The overall goal is improved security and stability in the region, and working together is a big part of that." "It is one of the only options Vietnam's got right now," he said. An official within the Indian Armed Forces said anonymously "At this point, kissing up to India has got to be in Vietnam's long-term interests, as well as being a vital tactic in the short-term," he said.

India's fleet arrived this morning in the northern part of Vietnam, Haiphong. Chinese scholars have said that Vietnam is attempting to ally with other countries over the South China Sea dispute, a goal which suits India, which is aiming to increase its military presence in the region, according to the website of China's nationalistic tabloid Global Times. The visit of the Indian fleet, which has a 6,200-tonne displacement, was praised by Indian media as a "brave move," as it passed through "disputed waters" claimed by China to reach the port. It will carry out a joint rescue operation exercise with Vietnamese ships, according to the paper. India is also reportedly training the Vietnamese navy to carry out missions in submarines and underwater operations.

Since the turn of the century, India has invested heavily in building the navy it needs for dominating the northern Indian Ocean, a crucial maritime highway for the flow of hydrocarbons from West Asia to China, Japan and the Southeast Asian countries; and for the transportation to Europe of merchandise from those manufacturing economies.

With China's military a looming presence on its Himalayan border with Tibet, New Delhi has long derived strategic assurance from its potential stranglehold over China’s sea lines of communication, or SLOCs, as these maritime highways are termed. India's growing maritime authority flows from its geography, with the Indian peninsula protruding like a 1000-kilometre dagger into the Indian Ocean.

Its island chains of Lakshadweep, and Andaman & Nicobar, enhance its control of key international shipping lanes that pass through these waters. India has committed money, resources and strategic attention to building up the bristling Andaman & Nicobar Command (ANC), which dominates the nearby Malacca Strait, through which 60,000 commercial vessels transit each year, an average of one every nine minutes. Most analysts believe that the Indian Navy - with its flotilla of some 135 warships, and its $5.6bn annual budget - can shut down the Indian Ocean shipping lanes whenever it chooses.

Beijing is all too aware of this. Chinese leaders, dating back to Defence Minister Chi Haotian in 1994, have argued that "the Indian Ocean is not India's ocean." But the fundamental determinants of naval power - force levels and proximity - suggest that China is some way from being able to challenge India in its own oceanic backyard.
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