Periscope Depth

Whether driven by direct threats to national security, or as a result of the submarine procurement race that is currently taking place in the region, Asia-Pacific waters are seeing a dramatic increase in the number of submarines patrolling their depths.

- Alix Valenti

An article from Channel NewsAsia published on 21st May 2015 reports that during the 2015 International Maritime Security Conference, held in Sydney, Australia, the chief of the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) Rear Admiral Lai Chung Han proposed the development of a regional framework for submarine operations safety. The framework would build on a memorandum agreement on Joint Standard Operating Procedures for mutual submarine rescue support the RSN signed with the US Navy on 19th May 2015, and would be modelled after the Code of Unplanned Encounters at Sea that was ratified in 2014 by 25 AsiaPacific countries. The proposal for a set of protocols was tabled by the RSN in June 2016. Similarly, in January 2017, the Royal Malaysian Navy was finalising three Malaysia Submarine Exercise Areas in the South China Sea to enhance submarine operating safety in the region.

These proposals come at a time when the Asia-Pacific region is witnessing a significant increase in the number of national submarine procurement programmes. From Australia to India, whether defence budgets have increased or are set to plateau due to national financial constraints, Stéphane Meunier, DCNS’ submarines marketing director indicated: “submarines represent an asset for countries willing to ensure their sovereignty and protect their territorial waters and Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs), as they play crucial roles such as surveillance and reconnaissance, intelligence gathering, patrolling and securing maritime borders and trade routes.”

Australia