New Delhi prepares for the indo-pacific challenge. The ongoing diplomatic tussle between India and China to dock the Chinese space and satellite tracking vessel ‘Yuan Wang V’, it is allowed to dock at Hambantota port from August 17, five days later than the accepted date. New Delhi prepares for the indo-pacific challenge.
This has created a situation that has sandwiched Sri Lanka in choosing between New Delhi and Beijing and has eventually succumbed to the Chinese pressure. Sri Lanka is in the midst of its own internal set of issues, such as high inflation, protests against the government, depleting foreign exchange, high-interest Chinese debts, and waiting for IMF loans to come through. New Delhi prepares for the indo-pacific challenge.
Amidst this Colombo has decided to allow Beijing to dock this ship in Hambantota, leaving New Delhi to further set the course in engaging with Sri Lanka and increasing Chinese assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific region. With the ship’s docking at Hambantota, after being denied once, New Delhi’s Naval Vice Admiral Ghormade arrives in Colombo on Sunday to discuss further ties with the leadership in Colombo. New Delhi prepares for the indo-pacific challenge.
The Current Flashpoint:
This year, on July 25-31, Palau’s National Security Coordination Office flagged a Chinese ‘Research’ Vessel Incursion Report; this is the same Yuan Wang V, a third-generation aerospace survey ship. It is known for its capability in the latest technologies such as ship construction, navigational meteorology, electronics, machinery, and other fields useful for monitoring space and satellite assets in the region.
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With its capabilities, one can reiterate that this ship was tracking and surveying satellites and launching Inter Continental Ballistic Missiles (ICBM) in the region. It was seen that this vessel was tracking the Chinese Long March 5B rocket, which has re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere and was involved in maritime monitoring of China’s Tiangong space station’s first module.
Even though this Chinese “research” vessel did not have permission to enter Palua’s EEZ yet it maneuvered in it, thus becoming a strategic platform and working as a support force to the PLA-SF (People’s Liberation Army Support Force).
Now, the same ship happens to be heading towards Hambantota, leading to a specter that threatens the relations between India, Sri Lanka, and China. New Delhi had earlier showcased its displeasure over a ‘research’ vessel docking at Hambantota port as it could grant Beijing access to strategic assets and pose a grave danger to national security.
It is the same port that Colombo had to cough up for their inability to pay for infrastructure loans taken from Beijing for ninety-nine years. Moreover, considering the instability in the neighborhood of India, one can imagine that all nations surrounding India, such as Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Afghanistan, and Laos, have one consistent actor – China and its strategic ‘debt-diplomacy’.
Therefore, to understand the current flashpoint, one has to understand that first from an Indian perspective, this visit has marked to be a threat to various nuclear facilities, the space center from where India launches its space missions, and the training facilities of the Indian Armed Forces, South Air, Naval, and Armed Forces Command come in the hearing capabilities of the ship which is 750 km in range. With the little-known capabilities of Yuan Wang V, its intention cannot be underestimated, even if it is not ‘under command’.
Second, with the change in the government, Beijing has been on the back foot, especially when it is the largest investor on the island. Their influence has gone down after their latest attempts to renegotiate the deal on trade, Colombo knows that, unlike Beijing, New Delhi isn’t a fair-weather friend. It has stepped up its efforts to ease the economic emergency Colombo is in with a commitment of over $3.5 billion.
Though, when expected the same from Beijing, absolute silence, and a week later, they rejected to reschedule the $5 billion Colombo owes Beijing; instead, it offered to refinance, a new $1 billion loan to repay part of Sri Lanka’s debt. Therefore, Colombo is extra cautious in managing New Delhi and Beijing since Beijing will play a spoiler in Sri Lanka’s bailout package at IMF; therefore, Colombo succumbs to Chinese assertiveness.
Third, Sri Lanka plays an important role in China’s presence in the Indian Ocean which is an important subset of the Indo-Pacific theatre. The present government under Ranil Wickremesinghe’s foreign policy tilts and understands that it would be better for Colombo to be closer to its regional interests than work with non-regional partners especially Beijing which wishes to exploit its vulnerability when it is in dire economic straits but due to the pending request at IMF, Colombo doesn’t have an option but to bow down to the Chinese.
Growing Convergences in the Indo-Pacific:
Vast oceans have separated the Indo-Pacific region. Until now, the concept of Indo-Pacific has been unclear due to the varied interests of nations especially for China as it has the largest naval fleet but only one foreign base situated at Djibouti, therefore, Hambantota becomes an important and integral piece in the whole equation in the Indo-Pacific conflict. So, for a better understanding of the conflict, we can divide the region into two parts:
i) Indian Ocean/Bay of Bengal Division: Everything west of Malacca Strait to the Mozambique Channel and the Strait of Hormuz can be classified into one part of the Indo-Pacific Region. Through this classification, an effort can be made to strengthen cooperation in regional security through multilateral engagements. Recently, India has extended its cooperation with the Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) as part of its widening military diplomacy in the region. Sri Lanka falls in this region.
ii) Pacific Ocean/Southeast Asia and Oceania Division: From the east of Malacca Strait to Cooks Islands, a nation associated with New Zealand with fifteen islands can be classified as the second part of the Indo-Pacific Region. This region has already seen Chinese ambition lurking in the affairs of smaller island nations such as the Solomon Islands by signing security deals, creating a sense of insecurity in the Pacific Community and traditional major powers in the region – Australia. Moreover, the visit by the United States Speaker of the House of Representatives to Taiwan touched Beijing’s nerves.
Way Forward for Cooperation:
The arrival of Yuan Wang V in the Indian Ocean showcases the emergence of space, and satellite tracking specific to the usage of Intercontinental Ballistic Missile launches, making such electronic equipment highly sought after to focus on space, cyber and electronic assets in space. Currently, China operates seven of these Yuan Wang vessels, showcasing their ability in space.
Recently, India deployed its own INS Dhruv, built indigenously by Hindustan Shipyard Limited (HSL), another glaring example of India’s push for ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’; this ship aids India’s strategic weapons and tracking of anti-ballistic missiles. The only difference between INS Dhruv and Yuan Wang V is that New Delhi uses it to protect sovereignty while Beijing believes in using it to breach and spy on other nations’ assets. Therefore, there is a need for New Delhi to establish a National Space Operations Strategy, which would control and coordinate the militarization of space before it is too late.
Furthermore, to add to this, the United States Navy Warship Charles Drew docked in the Indian port of Kattupalli under the Logistic Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) pact, the announcement of joint exercise ‘Yudh Abhyas’ with the United States in Auli region of Uttarakhand and New Delhi releasing pictures of 14th Dalai Lama’s (spiritual Tibetan leader’s in exile) visit to Lingshed, a remote village in Ladakh has been delivering a keen strategic message to Beijing that ‘sovereignty’ is among the key issues on which India would not negotiate and would not shy away if provoked.
Finally, the world understands that India and the Indo-Pacific are increasingly becoming the center of gravity of global politics, global economics, and geostrategic contestation, and it is where the contestation will be mapped out. Until then, Taiwan and Southeast Asia (Oceania) will test the waters for the QUAD countries, extending to the Indian Ocean soon. Therefore, it is clear that New Delhi is prepared to take on the challenge in the Indo-Pacific.
Meanwhile, sources do indicate that New Delhi may be in the process of finalizing joint naval exercises with countries such as the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, Singapore, and Australia in the South China Sea region. It is seen as a means of strengthening cooperation among maritime countries surrounding China.
Moreover, it is seen that India did not participate in the International Army Games which is hosted by China, Russia, Iran, and Belarus among other countries, but shall be participating in the Vostok-22 military exercise this year. Last year, New Delhi sent its contingent to the event, while this year, have decided to be part of Australia’s ‘Pitch Black’ War Exercise comprising Canada, Germany, France, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the UK, and the USA to focus their energy on Indo-Pacific region.