Hello to readers of Pete's blog! This is my (Gessler's) first post here since Pete made me a co-author so I'll try not to mess this up.
I originally commented (on Pete's article regarding Collins Life of Type Extension (LOTE)) about the Indian Navy's 2024 deployment to the South China Sea making Singapore their first stop.
I speculated at the time that the Indian Navy (IN) deployment which consists of: INS Kiltan a Kamorta-class ASW corvette; INS Delhi an upgraded Delhi-class destroyer; and INS Shakti a Fincantieri-built Deepak-class fleet tanker, could have the Philippines on its itinerary given the upsurge in defence and strategic relations between New Delhi and Manila in recent times.
Shawn C had commented that the Indian deployment could also call on Vietnam's ports, pointing to the potential of an increased strategic relationship between India and Vietnam as well.
It turns out, we were both right with our speculations: The Indian contingent has visited both Vietnam's Cam Ranh Bay and the Philippines' naval anchorage in Manila!
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| INS Kiltan at Cam Ranh Bay, Vietnam --- |
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| INS Shakti at Manila harbour, Philippines --- |
The intent of the 'regularization' of India's naval deployments to the South China Sea includes Delhi's extension of diplomatic support to Pacific states troubled by China's expansionism. This seems to be a message aimed squarely at Beijing and is a probable response to China's increasing reach in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). Aspects include: China's deployment of naval task forces to the western periphery of the IOR; China's construction of strategic/dual-use infrastructure around India; as well as China's almost continuous deployment of various intelligence-gathering vessels to monitor India's missile tests and naval activity.
How these deployments and counter-deployments evolve over the next few years will probably be interesting to followers of geopolitics to keep an eye on...especially as the number and frequency of vessels increase. Of interest as well will be any increasing possibility of actual confrontations.
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Speaking of India's naval deployments to friendly states, it seems there may be a major event soon. An Indian Navy (IN) aircraft carrier may make its maiden visit to Australia to participate in an International Fleet Review in 2026 celebrating the Royal Australian Navy's (RAN's) 125th anniversary. It's not yet known which of India's two carriers, INS Vikrant or INS Vikramaditya, will visit. Either way, I reckon a number of cross-decking exercises between rotary wing assets of both the IN and RAN (flying off Canberra-class LHDs) is to be expected at some point during the visit.
Though it's also possible we don't have to wait that long to see exercises of that kind between IN and RAN.
Cheers,
Gessler