India conducts joint naval exercise with Philippines as it seeks to expand South China Sea role
- Monday’s exercise in the disputed waters was the latest in a series of efforts to expand the country’s presence in the region
- India will also join its Quad partners – the US, Australia and Japan – amid its growing concern about China’s rise
The guided missile destroyer INS Ranvijay and guided missile corvette INS Kora joined the Philippine frigate BRP Antonio Luna for Monday’s exercise, officials told the Indian broadcaster NDTV.
The exercises included “several operational manoeuvres and the participating ships of both navies were satisfied with the consolidation of interoperability achieved through this operational interaction at sea,” Commander Vivek Madhwal, from the Indian navy, said.
The drill with the Philippines, is part of a two-month Indian naval deployment announced earlier this month.
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Beijing claims the vast majority of the resource-rich South China Sea, a long-standing source of tension with other claimants including Vietnam, Malaysia and the Philippines.
India is stepping up its naval presence in the waters, a vital international trade route, as part of its “Act East” policy, according to one Chinese analyst.
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“India’s naval exercises with the Philippines and Vietnam are to maintain good relations with its counterparts under its ‘Act East’ policy,” Yue Gang, a former People’s Liberation Army colonel said. He added that New Delhi also wanted to increase its presence in the South China Sea to show its “influence on this trade route”.
The drill also comes as India moves closer to the US as a result of their mutual concern about China’s rise.
The South China Sea has become one of many flashpoints in the testy relationship between China and the United States, with Washington rejecting what it calls unlawful territorial claims by Beijing.
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On Tuesday during her visit to Southeast Asia, Vice-President Kamala Harris accused Beijing of “continuing to undermine the rules based order and threaten the sovereignty of nations”.
Yue said: “Recently, the United States has taken the lead, and countries including Britain, Germany, and India have followed the call of their ‘big brother’ the US to show themselves defending the order of the ocean.”
According to Yue, China has “intensified its countermeasures”, and started a series of naval exercises on Tuesday ahead of the Quad’s own drills off Guam.
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“We have been prepared for the worsening situation and could attack from all directions in the event of war,” Yue said.
