China remains a formidable challenge, says Navy Chief

Source: The post is based on the article “China remains a formidable challenge, says Navy Chief” published in The Hindu on 20th September 2022.

What is the News?

The Chief of Naval Staff(CNS) has addressed a seminar titled “Security Challenges” that India faces.

What are the key highlights from the seminar?

China’s presence in the Indian Ocean Region(IOR): China began its Indian Ocean maritime deployment in the Indian Ocean Region(IOR) in 2008 using anti-piracy operations as the reason and since then there has been a continuous presence in the region.

– At any point India has anything between 5-8 Chinese Navy units, be it warships or research vessels and a host of Chinese fishing vessels operating in the IOR. For instance, China now has a base in Djibouti and has been involved in the development of various ports in the IOR, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Pakistan and so many other countries.

– Hence, India has to maintain a high level of operational preparedness at all times whatever be the situation and the importance of infrastructure development, especially along the northern borders.

On the experience with Russian equipment: They were reliable and while there had been teething issues with some of the systems but India have received good support from Russia.

– Some technologies which India have not been able to get from any other sources, Russia has been able to support us.

Indian Navy’s lead in indigenisation efforts: Around 29 ships commissioned in the past seven years were constructed in India, and 38 out of 40 ships presently under construction were also being built at Indian shipyards. The aim of the Navy is to be fully atma nirbhar by 2047.

Lessons from the Ukraine War: It was easy to start a war, but a major challenge is to terminate it. There are also lessons in the use of media and social media to weaponize the cognitive domain.