ENHANCING MARITIME SECURITY

India needs to think of how to integrate the armed services in a national maritime policy and to work with friendly neighbours in a larger IOR context

Over the past two decades India has built up its naval capabilities to counter the growing maritime challenges that have emerged in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). As naval capabilities have grown, there has also been a push to develop a true blue-water navy that can not only go to the southern most parts of the IOR but also project power in South East and eventually North East Asia. There are now even occasional analyses of India playing a role in security operations in the South China Sea, a maritime space that China regards as its backyard and does not want a foreign naval presence in. To achieve this capability, India now has an ambitious programme to build a fleet of aircraft carriers, nuclear submarines, and surface vessels to project power. But then there are some challenges that need to be overcome to pursue this strategy.

Stagnating defence budgets