By IANS
New Delhi : India has allayed Chinese concerns over a multilateral naval drill in the Bay of Bengal next month, saying it was only meant to ensure that the sea lanes of communication were secure, a minister said here Friday.
“We have assured China that the exercise is only meant to secure the sea lanes of communications,” Minister of State for Defence M.M. Pallam Raju told reporters on the sidelines of a defence seminar here.
The minister, however, did not indicate the manner in which India had conveyed its views to China.
The exercise, codenamed Malabar-2007, will be conducted Sep 4-9 between the navies of India, the US, Japan, Australia and Singapore. Its operational area will stretch between Visakhapatnam on India’s eastern seaboard and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands that guard the approaches to the Strait of Malacca, considered the world’s busiest waterway.
The Malabar series is now in its 13th year. The drill has previously been a bilateral India-US engagement and has been expanded for the first time. This is also the first time that the drill will be conducted off the eastern seaboard.
Beijing has not officially commented on the drill but analysts say that some in the Chinese establishment view it as muscle flexing. China has been cultivating naval cooperation with Bangladesh and Myanmar to gain access to the Bay of Bengal. China has also been strengthening military cooperation with Sri Lanka.
In June, China had issued a demarche to India, the US, Japan and Australia seeking details about their four-nation meeting. India and Australia had then assured Beijing that security and defence issues did not form part of the meeting’s agenda.
A demarche is a formal diplomatic communication from a country seeking information from another.
A US Navy admiral has also addressed Chinese concerns over the Malabar-2007 drill.
“Japan, Australia and India share interests and if you join the dots, you will see there is no formal quadrilateral. There is no effort to isolate China or put it in a closet,” Admiral Timothy J. Keating, head of the Hawaii-based US Pacific Command, told reporters here Thursday.
Minister Raju also complimented the Indian Navy for conducting joint drills with foreign navies.
“It is a good lead by the navy. It is important to hold joint exercises and share information,” he maintained.
The US Navy will have the largest representation during Malabar-2007 with 13 warships, including the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Nimitz that generated much heat when it dropped anchor off Chennai last month. The other vessels include the conventionally powered carrier USS Kitty Hawk, the nuclear submarine USS Chicago, two guided-missile cruisers, and six guided-missile destroyers.
Seven warships, including the aircraft carrier INS Viraat, will represent the Indian Navy. Viraat’s Sea Harrier jets and Sea King helicopters, and the Indian Air Force’s Jaguar deep-penetration strike aircraft will also be seen in action.
Australia will be represented by a frigate and a tanker, Japan by two destroyers and Singapore by a frigate.
Besides interception and dissimilar air combat exercises, Malabar-2007 will also feature surface and anti-submarine warfare, maritime interdiction and VBSS (visit, board, search and seizure) operations to counter piracy and terrorist acts at sea.