Recently Yahoo News on-line reported the following:
India begins to flex its naval power as competition with
China grows (1/2)
AIJAZ HUSSAIN
Thu, February 1, 2024 at 7:26 p.m. PST·5 min read
SRINAGAR, India (AP) — For decades, India has focused its
defense policy on its land borders with rivals Pakistan and China. Now, as its
global ambitions expand, it is beginning to flex its naval power in
international waters, including anti-piracy patrols and a widely publicized
deployment close to the Red Sea to help protect ships from attacks during Israel’s
war with Hamas.
India sent three guided missile destroyers and reconnaissance aircraft in November when Yemen-based Houthi rebels began targeting ships in solidarity with Hamas, causing disruptions in a key trading route that handles about 12% of global trade.
The deployment highlights the country as a “proactive contributor” to international maritime stability, said Vice Adm. Anil Kumar Chawla, who retired in 2021 as head of India’s southern naval command.
“We are not doing it only out of altruism. Unless you are a maritime power you can never aspire to be a global power,” Chawla said. India, already a regional power, is positioning itself “as a global player today, an upcoming global power,” he said.
India is widely publicizing the deployments, signaling its desire to assume a wider responsibility in maritime security to the world and its growing maritime ambitions to regional rival China.
“It is a message to China that, look, we can deploy such a large force here. This is our backyard. Though we don’t own it, but we are probably the most capable and responsible resident naval power,” Chawla said.
The Indian navy has helped at least four ships, three of which were attacked by Houthi rebels and another that Washington blamed on Iran, a charge denied by Tehran. It has also conducted several anti-piracy missions.
Iran-backed Houthi rebels have targeted dozens of ships in the Red Sea, saying they are seeking a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip. The U.S. and its allies have responded with multiple rounds of bombings of rebel positions. India has not joined the U.S.-led force battling the Houthis.
On Jan. 26, the Indian guided missile destroyer INS Visakhapatnam assisted the crew of a Marshall Islands-flagged tanker in fighting a fire after it was hit by a missile in the Gulf of Aden. About 10 days earlier, the Visakhapatnam responded to a distress call by the U.S.-owned Genco Picardy merchant vessel following a drone attack in the same waters.
“Maritime security has not been a strong pillar of India’s foreign policy engagements in a way we are beginning to see now,” said Darshana M. Baruah, a fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. “China is a factor in this.”
The rivals are already locked in a military standoff along their disputed border high in the mountains.
(to be continued)
Translation
印度斯利那加（美聯社）- 幾十年來，印度一直將國防政策的重點放在與競爭對手巴基斯坦和中國的陸地邊界。 現在，隨著其全球野心的擴大，它開始在國際水域展示其海軍力量，包括反海盜巡邏以及在紅海附近廣泛宣傳的部署，以幫助保護船隻在以色列與哈馬斯的戰爭期間免受襲擊。
去年 11 月，當也門胡塞武裝開始針對船隻以聲援哈馬斯，導致一條佔全球貿易約 12% 的重要貿易路線中斷時, 印度派遣了三艘飛彈驅逐艦和偵察機。
2021 年退休的印度南部海軍司令部司令 Anil Kumar Chawla 中將表示，這次部署凸顯了印度作為國際海上穩定的「積極貢獻者」。
Chawla 說: 「我們這樣做不僅僅是出於利他主義。你永遠無法去渴望成為全球強國除非你是海上強國」。他說印度已經是一個地區大國，正在將自己定位為「當今的全球參與者，即將成為的全球大國」。
印度正在廣泛宣傳這些部署，顯示其希望在世界海上安全方面承擔更廣泛的責任，以及向作為地區競爭的中國, 顯示增長中的海上雄心。
Chawla 說: 「這是向中國傳達的訊息，看看, 我們可以在這裡部署如此龐大的部隊。 這是我們的後院。 雖然我們不擁有它，但我們可能是最有能力、最負責任的常駐海軍力量」。
印度海軍已經幫助了至少四艘船隻，其中三艘遭到胡塞叛軍的襲擊，另一艘則被華盛頓歸咎於伊朗，但德黑蘭否認了這項指控。 印度海軍還執行了多次反海盜任務。
伊朗支持的胡塞叛軍襲擊了紅海的數十艘船隻，自稱他們正在爭取加沙走廊停火。 美國及其盟國對叛軍陣地進行了多輪轟炸作為回應。 印度沒有加入美國領導的打擊胡塞武裝的部隊。
1月26日，一艘懸掛馬紹爾群島國旗的油輪在亞丁灣被飛彈擊中後起火, 印度飛彈驅逐艦 INS Visakhapatnam 號協助其船員。 大約10天前，Visakhapatnam 號回應了美國擁有的 Genco Picardy商船在同一水域遭遇無人機襲擊後發出的求救訊號。
卡內基國際和平基金會研究員 Darshana M. Baruah 表示：「有別於我們現在開始看到的情況，一向以來海上安全並未成為印度外交政策的強有力支柱」。「這変化有中國因素」。
雙方軍事對峙已經在高山上有爭議的邊境地區出現。
（待續）
沒有留言:
張貼留言