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China-wary India OKs 56 warships, six subs


Date:- 04 Dec 2018


Rajat Pandit  

Fund Constraints Stall Plan For 3rd Aircraft Carrier

India may not be the economic powerhouse China is, but has plans under way to counter the latter’s expanding strategic footprint in Indian Ocean Region (IOR). With Chinese warships and submarines making regular forays into the region, the government has given initial approvals for construction of 56 new warships and six submarines for the Indian Navy over the next decade.

The Navy, which has 140 warships and 220 aircraft, already has 32 warships under construction in domestic shipyards at a cost of Rs 1.26 lakh crore to replace its aging fleets and plug gaps.

But it will take long-term dedicated funding to ensure the Navy comes anyway close to its original target of becoming a 212-warship and 458-aircraft force by 2027.

But Admiral Sunil Lanba, speaking ahead of Navy Day on Tuesday, is confident of tackling an aggressive and expansionist China. “We have overwhelming superiority over Pakistan in all domains at sea. In the case of China, with the forces it can currently bring to bear in IOR, the balance of power is in our favour. Similarly, of course, in South China Sea it will be in China’s favour,” he said.

The Navy is undertaking “recalibrated mission-based deployments” from the Persian Gulf to Malacca Strait, with around a dozen warships spread across “choke points” in the IOR on regular patrols. China deploys six to eight warships in IOR at any given time, and the eighth Chinese submarine since 2013 to enter the region returned to its base in October, said Admiral Lanba.

With China fast establishing logistical hubs in IOR, including its first overseas naval base at Djibouti in the Horn of Africa in August 2017, India too has inked military logistics pacts with the US and France to ensure “long legs” for its Navy.

But budgetary constraints remain a major problem. The defence ministry, for instance, is yet to give even initial approval to construction of the 65,000-tonne indigenous aircraft carrier (IAC-II) that was sought in May 2015.

It will take long-term dedicated funding to ensure the Navy comes anyway close to its original target of becoming a 212-warship and 458-aircraft force by 2027

Reliance Def ‘fined’ for failing to deliver subs

The Centre is yet to decide its next course of action on the failure of Reliance Naval and Engineering Ltd to deliver five naval offshore patrol vessels in time under a Rs 2,500 crore contract inked in 2011, but its bank guarantees (over Rs 400 crore) have been “encashed” as a penalty. On being contacted, Reliance officials declined to comment on the matter TNN

Full report on www.toi.in

Rajat.Pandit@timesgroup.com

Courtesy: Times of India: 4th Dec, 2018