Chinese Checkers In The Indian Ocean

Japan, India and the US begin one of their largest naval exercises amid shared concerns over the deployment of Chinese submarines in the Indian Ocean.

- Sandeep Unnithan

Three aircraft carriers sailing in formation is an awe-inspiring sight at any time. Particularly when the three flattops combined can launch over 150 fighter jets and helicopters, more than the air forces of several countries. This is likely to be the case when the USS Nimitz, INS Vikramaditya and Japan’s Izumo join several other warships to conduct joint manoeuvres in the Bay of Bengal during the annual Malabar 2017 multilateral naval exercises from July 10. But that isn’t the only reason this newest instalment of the exercise is likely to raise Beijing’s hackles, as it comes while its troops are locked in a standoff with Indian soldiers on the Doklam plateau in Bhutan. Malabar 2017 will primarily focus on anti-submarine warfare, a shared concern over the PLA navy’s rapidly growing capabilities. China today has the world’s fastest growing undersea fleet and is cranking them out at an astonishing rate of roughly two vessels a year.

A June 2017 US Congressional Service Report on China’s naval modernisation notes that between 1995 and 2016, the country placed, or was expected to press into service, 56 attack submarines of four types—Shang, Kilo, Yuan and Song classes. ‘This average commissioning rate, if sustained indefinitely, would eventually result in a steady-state submarine force of 51 to 76 boats of all kinds, assuming an average submarine life of 20 to 30 years.’

The PLA’s submarine deployment in the Indian Ocean since 2013 has added a fresh underwater dimension to the maritime Great Game in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).