India, Vietnam partners in safeguarding sea lanes

By Atul Aneja

CALCUTTA, APRIL 14. With high stakes in the uninterrupted flow of commercial shipping, the Indian Navy has ``an interest'' in the ocean space extending from the North of the Arabian Sea to the South China Sea, the Defence Minister, Mr. George Fernandes, has said.

In his address while commissioning India's 3,600 tonne warship, INS Brahmaputra, the Defence Minister indicated that Japan and Vietnam were emerging as India's key strategic partners for countering piracy from the Indian waters to the South China sea. According to sources in the Navy, the stretch from India to the Malacca Straits, the gateway to South East Asia, was highly prone to piracy. The rescue of a hijacked Japanese cargo ship recently by the Navy had highlighted New Delhi and Tokyo's common strategic stake in cooperating in these waters.

India and Vietnam were also partners in safeguarding commercial sea lanes. During the recent visit of the Defence Minister to Vietnam, the Sea police of Vietnam and the Indian Navy have decided to work together to protect the commercial highways. ``Our (India's) area of interest therefore extends from the North of the Arabian sea to the South China sea,'' Mr. Fernandes observed.

The commissioning of the Brahmaputra is part of India's efforts to beef up its naval forces especially along its western coastline. Not surprisingly the commissioning of the INS Brahmaputra has been preceded by the induction of the Aditya, a fleet tanker. India now has three fleet tankers which can fuel warships in the high seas. As result, their presence gives the Navy a longer ``blue water'' reach.

This year is also likely to witness the induction of six other warships as well as the commissioning of a Kilo class submarine which can fire missiles towards land targets for the first time.

The hull of five other ships including two Russian built Khrivak class frigates would also be ready this year. ``From the foundation stage to commissioning, it takes around three more years to complete the ship,'' a Naval officer at the Garden reach shipyard where the Brahmaputra has been built said.

By the end of this year, the keel, which is the first step to construction, of two guided missile frigates will also be laid. These comprise, the Nilgiri, which will have extensive ``stealth features'' and will be therefore hard to detect, as well as a Tabar class frigate which will be built at the Baltiskyie shipyard in St. Petersburg.

Besides, the Navy is in the final stages of negotiating the purchase of the 40,000 tonne aircraft carrier, Admiral Gorshkov from Russia.

Sources here pointed out that the Navy was focusing on acquiring an ability to attack land targets from the sea. Not surprisingly, the Dhanush ballistic missile, which is the Naval variant of the Prithvi system was fired from the warship, Subhadra, on Monday for this purpose. The launch was, however, ``experimental'' and several more tests may be required to make this weapon battle worthy. The mounting of the 300 km range Russian built Klub class cruise missiles on the new Kilo calls submarines and the three Khrivak class frigates which India will acquire from Russia subsequently will also enhance the credibility of the Navy's land-attack capability, the Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral Sushil Kumar, who was also present on the occasion said.

The Brahmaputra class frigate, despite having a similar hull to the Godavari calls ships which were commissioned a decade ago is distinct on other counts. Its 16 Uran missiles can strike a target of 100 km range - a feat which none of the earlier frigates with India can match. Long range punch is also acquired through the Sea Eagle missiles which are mounted on two Sea King helicopters. These missiles can attack at a range of 450 km, while underwater rockets and torpedoes on the ship can decimate hostile submarines.

The indigenous content of the Brahmaputra is very high as most of the electronic sensors, unlike other ships, have been manufactured within the country. This includes the Humvad Sonar which is especially suited to the unique conditions of Indian waters. ``The Humvad can distinguish between the redundant and the relevant noises which are naturally generated in the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal. It also functions normally in the around the seven depth bands of Indian waters which would otherwise make the detection of hostile submarines difficult,'' a Naval officer said.

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