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‘China threat’ influenced 2017 Malabar exercises
Subir Bhaumik, July 25, 2017
It is now customary for spokespersons to say that joint Indo-US military exercises are not aimed at anybody, meaning China. That is meant to soothe nerves in Beijing, but the claim is not quite correct.
The 2017 Malabar exercises in July — its design and content, the manoeuvres undertaken and strategic lessons discussed — were clearly influenced by the ‘Chinese threat’.
Naval experts agree that the 2017 version of Malabar exercises was the ‘most complex and extensive’ since its inception. It involved a long sea phase spanning across more than a week backed by in-port interactions at Chennai.
Sixteen ships, two submarines, and more than 95 aircraft from the Indian, US and Japanese navy participated in the exercise.
The U.S. Navy sent ships from the Nimitz Carrier Strike Group of its 7th Fleet’s area of operations.
Indian navy mobilised the “aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya with its air wing, guided missile destroyer Ranvir, indigenous stealth frigates Shivalik and Sahyadri, indigenous ASW [anti-submarine warfare] corvette Kamorta, missile corvettes Kora and Kirpan, one Sindhughosh-class submarine, fleet tanker INS Jyoti and Long-Range Maritime Patrol Aircraft P8I.
The Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force (JMSDF) sent its helicopter carrier JS Izumo.
Top Indian Navy officials told Southasian Monitor that “the thrust of exercises at sea were on Aircraft Carrier operations, Air Defense, Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW), Surface Warfare, Visit Board Search and Seizure (VBSS), Search and Rescue, Joint Manoeuvres and Tactical procedures.”
The aircraft carrier drills and the anti-submarine warfare drills were clearly conducted with the ‘China threat’ in mind.
One senior Navy official said that the US and the Indian navy seek to develop inter-operability through these exercises. When that is extended to aircraft carriers, it clearly has offensive intent because carriers are meant for attack, not defence. Adding a Japanese helicopter carrier to the drills is also significant because it means the drills covered the whole range from limited theatre assault to potential larger offensives.
The Indian, Japanese and US navies for a while have been worried over increasing Chinese submarine activity in the Indian Ocean. The anti-submarine warfare drills in 2017 Malabar exercise were conducted with the avid intent of blocking and throttling Chinese submarine movement that could threaten the other navies.
“So, there was both a substantial offensive and a defensive content in the design and conduct of 2017 Malabar exercise. The aircraft carrier drills were to perfect assault strategies against a common enemy (read China) while the anti-submarine warfare drills were meant to perfect search-and-destroy capabilities against enemy submarines (read Chinese submarines) to protect both combat and commercial shipping,” said a former vice-admiral of Indian navy familiar with the Malabar exercises.
Official statements have played down the idea that the exercises were meant to send a message to China.
Also Read: China’s latest anti-Indian stance stems from Malabar Exercise’s threat to OBOR
Indian Flag Officer Commanding of Eastern Naval Command HCS Bisht insisted that the Malabar exercise “has nothing to do” with the stand-off between Indian and Chinese troops in the Doklam area. Similarly, U.S. Rear Admiral William D. Byrne was cited as saying that the exercises were not meant to send the any “strategic message” to China or any other country.
What Bisht said was true — Malabar 2017 had been planned much before Doklam stand-off.
But Byrne was not quite right when he said no ‘strategic message’ was intended for anybody.
Malabar 2017 was a clear ‘strategic message’ to China — India-US-Japanese naval cooperation was there to stay, the three navies were determined to perfect inter-operability and the only country against whom that was directed was China.
“Clearly the capabilities the three navies seek to develop through Malabar is not meant for use against anybody other than China. The Chinese threat is no longer seen as merely land driven or nuclear. Increasingly it is naval in nature”, said the retired Indian navy vice-admiral.
But he was unwilling to be named.
China has been apprehensive about the Malabar exercises and the growing links between the Indian, U.S., and Japanese navies.
Reacting to Malabar 2017, Chinese foreign office spokesperson Geng Shuang stated that “we have no objection to the development of normal relations and cooperation between the countries. We hope such relations and cooperation are not targeted at a third country.”
Although India and the United States have always maintained that aim of the naval exercise is streamlining interoperability, cementing professional ties, and preparing for Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) as well as Search and Rescue (SAR) operations, one of the aims of such cooperative efforts is also to maintain a balance of power in the Indo-Pacific region.
Aircraft carrier or anti-submarine warfare drills are clearly bereft of any humanitarian dimensions.
Also Read: Malabar submarine drills worry China
The annual Malabar 2017 exercise in the Bay of Bengal was one of the largest exercises held in the region. It provided an important platform for the navies of the three democracies to promote common understanding and demonstrate their shared commitment to enhance maritime security and stability in the region.
The annual Malabar exercise started in 1992 as a bilateral event between the navies of India and the United States to live down the legacy of the Cold War.
Over the years, the Malabar exercise has become a significant part of Indo-U.S. naval cooperation and grown into a complex multifaceted exercise, with an increase in the number of participating countries as well as enhancement of the nature of operations.
The 2007 edition of the exercise, held in the Bay of Bengal, was particularly significant, as for the first-time ships from Japan, Australia, and Singapore also participated along with India and United States.
However, Australia has not participated again since then, given the strong reaction from China to the event. It was only in 2014 that Japan again participated in the exercise, held in the western Pacific Ocean and in 2015 Japan became a permanent participant in the Malabar exercises.
Recently, Australia has also expressed its willingness to re-join the exercise and a decision may soon be taken.
If this was an exercise to bring together the different important navies of the region and not aimed at anyone, the Chinese navy would have been invited.
That will never be the case with Malabar. And for the simple reason — China is the perceived threat and though there are elements in Malabar exercises that focus on humanitarian and disaster relief operations, much of the warfare drills (aircraft carrier or anti-submarine) is conceived and executed with the Chinese threat in mind.
Subir Bhaumik is a former BBC Correspondent and author.
http://southasianmonitor.com/2017/07/25/china-threat-influenced-2017-malabar-exercises/
Subir Bhaumik, July 25, 2017
It is now customary for spokespersons to say that joint Indo-US military exercises are not aimed at anybody, meaning China. That is meant to soothe nerves in Beijing, but the claim is not quite correct.
The 2017 Malabar exercises in July — its design and content, the manoeuvres undertaken and strategic lessons discussed — were clearly influenced by the ‘Chinese threat’.
Naval experts agree that the 2017 version of Malabar exercises was the ‘most complex and extensive’ since its inception. It involved a long sea phase spanning across more than a week backed by in-port interactions at Chennai.
Sixteen ships, two submarines, and more than 95 aircraft from the Indian, US and Japanese navy participated in the exercise.
The U.S. Navy sent ships from the Nimitz Carrier Strike Group of its 7th Fleet’s area of operations.
Indian navy mobilised the “aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya with its air wing, guided missile destroyer Ranvir, indigenous stealth frigates Shivalik and Sahyadri, indigenous ASW [anti-submarine warfare] corvette Kamorta, missile corvettes Kora and Kirpan, one Sindhughosh-class submarine, fleet tanker INS Jyoti and Long-Range Maritime Patrol Aircraft P8I.
The Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force (JMSDF) sent its helicopter carrier JS Izumo.
Top Indian Navy officials told Southasian Monitor that “the thrust of exercises at sea were on Aircraft Carrier operations, Air Defense, Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW), Surface Warfare, Visit Board Search and Seizure (VBSS), Search and Rescue, Joint Manoeuvres and Tactical procedures.”
The aircraft carrier drills and the anti-submarine warfare drills were clearly conducted with the ‘China threat’ in mind.
One senior Navy official said that the US and the Indian navy seek to develop inter-operability through these exercises. When that is extended to aircraft carriers, it clearly has offensive intent because carriers are meant for attack, not defence. Adding a Japanese helicopter carrier to the drills is also significant because it means the drills covered the whole range from limited theatre assault to potential larger offensives.
The Indian, Japanese and US navies for a while have been worried over increasing Chinese submarine activity in the Indian Ocean. The anti-submarine warfare drills in 2017 Malabar exercise were conducted with the avid intent of blocking and throttling Chinese submarine movement that could threaten the other navies.
“So, there was both a substantial offensive and a defensive content in the design and conduct of 2017 Malabar exercise. The aircraft carrier drills were to perfect assault strategies against a common enemy (read China) while the anti-submarine warfare drills were meant to perfect search-and-destroy capabilities against enemy submarines (read Chinese submarines) to protect both combat and commercial shipping,” said a former vice-admiral of Indian navy familiar with the Malabar exercises.
Official statements have played down the idea that the exercises were meant to send a message to China.
Also Read: China’s latest anti-Indian stance stems from Malabar Exercise’s threat to OBOR
Indian Flag Officer Commanding of Eastern Naval Command HCS Bisht insisted that the Malabar exercise “has nothing to do” with the stand-off between Indian and Chinese troops in the Doklam area. Similarly, U.S. Rear Admiral William D. Byrne was cited as saying that the exercises were not meant to send the any “strategic message” to China or any other country.
What Bisht said was true — Malabar 2017 had been planned much before Doklam stand-off.
But Byrne was not quite right when he said no ‘strategic message’ was intended for anybody.
Malabar 2017 was a clear ‘strategic message’ to China — India-US-Japanese naval cooperation was there to stay, the three navies were determined to perfect inter-operability and the only country against whom that was directed was China.
“Clearly the capabilities the three navies seek to develop through Malabar is not meant for use against anybody other than China. The Chinese threat is no longer seen as merely land driven or nuclear. Increasingly it is naval in nature”, said the retired Indian navy vice-admiral.
But he was unwilling to be named.
China has been apprehensive about the Malabar exercises and the growing links between the Indian, U.S., and Japanese navies.
Reacting to Malabar 2017, Chinese foreign office spokesperson Geng Shuang stated that “we have no objection to the development of normal relations and cooperation between the countries. We hope such relations and cooperation are not targeted at a third country.”
Although India and the United States have always maintained that aim of the naval exercise is streamlining interoperability, cementing professional ties, and preparing for Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) as well as Search and Rescue (SAR) operations, one of the aims of such cooperative efforts is also to maintain a balance of power in the Indo-Pacific region.
Aircraft carrier or anti-submarine warfare drills are clearly bereft of any humanitarian dimensions.
Also Read: Malabar submarine drills worry China
The annual Malabar 2017 exercise in the Bay of Bengal was one of the largest exercises held in the region. It provided an important platform for the navies of the three democracies to promote common understanding and demonstrate their shared commitment to enhance maritime security and stability in the region.
The annual Malabar exercise started in 1992 as a bilateral event between the navies of India and the United States to live down the legacy of the Cold War.
Over the years, the Malabar exercise has become a significant part of Indo-U.S. naval cooperation and grown into a complex multifaceted exercise, with an increase in the number of participating countries as well as enhancement of the nature of operations.
The 2007 edition of the exercise, held in the Bay of Bengal, was particularly significant, as for the first-time ships from Japan, Australia, and Singapore also participated along with India and United States.
However, Australia has not participated again since then, given the strong reaction from China to the event. It was only in 2014 that Japan again participated in the exercise, held in the western Pacific Ocean and in 2015 Japan became a permanent participant in the Malabar exercises.
Recently, Australia has also expressed its willingness to re-join the exercise and a decision may soon be taken.
If this was an exercise to bring together the different important navies of the region and not aimed at anyone, the Chinese navy would have been invited.
That will never be the case with Malabar. And for the simple reason — China is the perceived threat and though there are elements in Malabar exercises that focus on humanitarian and disaster relief operations, much of the warfare drills (aircraft carrier or anti-submarine) is conceived and executed with the Chinese threat in mind.
Subir Bhaumik is a former BBC Correspondent and author.
http://southasianmonitor.com/2017/07/25/china-threat-influenced-2017-malabar-exercises/
