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OpINION APRIL 22, 2022 | The Indian Eye 13

India’s intent to be the prime the one hand, and benefit the smaller
security guarantor in IOR has been maritime nations from exposure to
widely articulated over the last de- USN’s planning, command and control
cade, including by former Defense and tactical procedures on the other.
Minister A.K. Antony in 201118 and A collaborative effort on the lines
then Prime Minister Manmohan of SEACAT and CARAT exercises,
Singh in 2013. Later, the IN in its 2015 involving navies of the IOR littorals,
Maritime Security Strategy pledged to between the US and Indian navies,
undertake the task of serving as “pro- with the latter in the lead, will not only
vider of net security in the region”. aid and augment the overall maritime
Even though the US supports In- security in the region, but will also ce-
dia’s lead role in the IOR, a consid- ment India’s role as a provider of net
erable gap remains between its words security.
and deeds. This could be due to sev- The US’ 2019 IPSR did not refer
eral factors, some of which have been to India’s role as the net provider of
discussed below. security in IOR. Instead, it clubbed
Differing Visions: India has ad- India with the other IOR littorals to
opted an Indo-Pacific vision that is state that the US “seeks opportuni-
different from the US’ containment of ties to broaden and strengthen part-
China approach. As stated by Prime External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar with Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne (2L), nerships with India, Sri Lanka, the
Minister Modi in 2018, India’s vision Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi (R) and uS Secretary of State Antony Blinken Maldives, Bangladesh, and Nepal to
for the Indo-Pacific “stands for a free, (L) at the 4th Quad Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, in Melbourne. (ANI Photo) respond to shared regional challeng-
open, inclusive region…It includes all es”. Further, the IPSR laid emphasis
nations in this geography as also oth- on trilateral mechanisms to maximise
ers beyond who have a stake in it”. He individual contributions to regional
further stated that “India does not see peace and security. These included
the Indo-Pacific Region as a strategy the US, Japan and Australia; US,
or as a club of limited members. Nor ROK and Japan; and the US, India
as a grouping that seeks to dominate. and Japan.48 It is felt that restraint by
And by no means do we consider it as India, to be completely drawn into the
directed against any country.” US fold, has apparently led to a recal-
The geographic scope of India’s ibration of the US strategy.
Indo-Pacific vision too differs from The US needs to come to terms
that of the US. The original US vision with India’s strategic compulsions. It
of the region stretched from the west is the only country in the Quad that
coast of India to the western shores has an unresolved and contested land
of the US, same as the jurisdiction of border with China. Additionally, ex-
the US INDOPACOM. It does not amples of the US abandonment, such
include the Western Indian Ocean as from Vietnam, Syria and Afghan-
and East African littoral, both part istan, probably do not inspire much
of India’s vision of the Indo-Pacific confidence. India, therefore, has little
Region. These areas fall under the option but to follow a balancing strat-
responsibility of the US CENTCOM Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral R Hari Kumar with Chief of Staff of egy vis-à-vis China. The US must be
and AFRICOM, respectively, which the French Navy Admiral Pierre Vandier and other officials in a group picture onboard the INS cognizant of these realities. There-
will require India to engage with three Chennai, at Cruise Terminal Marmugao Port go (ANI Photo) fore, for realizing a free and open
US commands as part of its own secu- Indo-Pacific, the US ought to accord
rity and other initiatives in IOR. primacy to India in IOR, in exchange
Contradictory Posturing: The the North Indian Ocean, sub-sea- also held two rounds of Maritime Se- for India’s supporting role in South-
US has also been undertaking the sonal and seasonal predictions and curity Dialogue, last in 2017, in US. east Asia, and beyond. India, on its
Freedom of Navigation (FON) Pro- improved climate forecasts, 10 days However, subsequent editions have part, would have to walk the extra
gramme, consisting of complementa- global wave forecast on daily basis not been held. mile to shoulder its increased respon-
ry diplomatic and operational efforts and predictive capabilities for fisher- Collaboration with Littorals: sibilities in the IOR, within the ambit
since 1979. These assertions mean that ies and HABs. The US Navy also conducts Cooper- of its Indo-Pacific strategy.
the US does not acquiesce to the exces- Intelligence Sharing: The US, ation Afloat Readiness and Training
sive maritime claims of other nations, the UK, Australia, New Zealand and (CARAT) exercise series, its oldest Capt Anurag Bisen is Research Fellow
and thus prevents such claims from Canada are also part of the five-na- and longest-running regional exer- at Manohar Parrikar Institute for
being accepted in international law. tion Five Eyes (FVEY) network.42 cise in the South and Southeast Asia. Defense Studies and Analyses
India and the US have signed India does not have a formal intelli- Similarly, the USN conducts South-
an MoU for Technical Cooperation gence sharing agreement with the US. east Asia Cooperation and Training Views expressed are of the author and
do not necessarily reflect the views of
in Earth Observations and Earth However, with the signing of the four (SEACAT) exercises that began in the Manohar Parrrikar IDSA or of the
Sciences, further extended till No- foundational agreements, decks have 2002 as “Southeast Asia Cooperation Government of India.
vember 2030. The collaboration has been cleared for the flow of classified against Terrorism”. IN participated in
achieved significant outcomes such information and intelligence between the 2021 edition of SEACAT exercis- This is the abridged version of the
as the fundamental understanding of the two countries. es with navies of 20 other Indo-Pacific article which appeared first in the
Indian Ocean dynamics and ocean-at- First India–US Ocean Dialogue, nations in Singapore. Comment section of the website (www.
mosphere interactions that affect the aimed at promoting sustainable de- These exercises enhance USN’s idsa.in) of Manohar Parrikar Institute
weather and climate, real-time fore- velopment of the blue economy, was presence and familiarity with the op- for Defense Studies and Analyses, New
casting of the tropical cyclones over held in 2017. The two countries have erating environment in the region, on Delhi on April 12, 2022

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