South China Sea: Time for India To Mark Its Presence

Synopsis

India has been overly cautious about increasing its interest in the Western Pacific. Recent developments under the Modi Government, however, hint at a greater political will in playing a part in shaping the changing security architecture.

Commentary

AS TENSION in the South China Sea continues to rise, countries like Vietnam and the Philippines are increasingly looking toward other regional powers to increase and maintain their interest in the Western Pacific. With growing India-Vietnam defence ties, Hanoi in particular is keen on India’s presence in the region, be it for economic or strategic reasons.

However, India has been unable to meet the expectations of its ASEAN friends, who more often than not complain about New Delhi not ‘doing enough’ in the security domain. While India continues to maintain its distance from any ‘contain China’ strategy, recent developments suggest that New Delhi is more willing to listen to its ASEAN friends. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s maiden presence at the 9th East Asia Summit and the 12th India-ASEAN summit in Myanmar last week provides a glimpse into India’s willingness to be involved in regional security issues beyond its shores.

Maritime Security

Under the leadership of Modi, the new government has renewed its interest in maritime security and has recognised the need to be involved in shaping the changing security architecture of the Indo-Pacific.

In boosting defence ties, India is also focusing on strengthening its maritime partnerships with the navies of the region such as Australia, Japan, Singapore and Vietnam. India offered a US$ 100 million line of credit to Vietnam, which was re-iterated during the visit of the Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung to Delhi in October 2014. Hanoi in turn is looking to use the credit to buy new naval vessels from New Delhi in an effort to strengthen its maritime defence in the South China Sea.

New Delhi must now also look to strengthen its maritime partnership with Jakarta under the leadership of President Joko Widodo — the new leader in Indonesia paying special attention to the maritime strategy of the country.