These maritime contingencies could arise from an attack on Indian interests by terror groups, sea piracy and providing assistance during a catastrophic disaster like the tsunami or for that matter attacks on Indian Diaspora. The issue of safety and well-being of nearly half a million ethnic Indians living in the Pacific Islands of Fiji, Mauritius in the Indian Ocean or Indian minority living in distant lands of Trinidad and Guyana in South America is of utmost importance. Unfortunately, the Indian Navy was not mobilised during the Fiji crisis.
Today, waters off Somalia have been declared dangerous on account of sea piracy.
Reportedly, the Royal Navy arrived on the scene to save six hundred British citizens domiciled in those islands. It is in this context that India must build a credible rapid reaction force with a strong sealift capability to sustain distant operations. A terrorist attack or hijacking of an Indian flagged ship in South China Sea by the Philippines based Abu Sayaf group is another possible maritime crisis that the Indian Navy can be called to handle.
Today, waters off Somalia have been declared dangerous on account of sea piracy. Since March 2005, reports of attacks by pirates and armed robbers, from boats operating off the Somali coast have been on a steady increase. This has prompted the German Navy to keep MS Deutschland, a cruise ship, under observation using ship and aircraft-borne radar and spy-satellites to protect the vessel and its crew. It also has a frigate on station near the Horn of Africa, with 220 German marines based in Djibouti as part of a NATO anti-terror mission. Similarly, the International Maritime Bureau has made a direct request to the Royal Navy to intervene in east African waters.
Among the several trends that appear to shape growth of Indias naval power, none is more demanding than the accrual of a dedicated MRRF flavoured with strategic sealift capability derived from the robust Indian technological strengths and the vision of its rising power in the Asia-Pacific region.
Similarly, Britain dispatched a naval task force and 500 troops to Sierra Leone to help shore up the besieged United Nations Peacekeeping Mission which also comprised a 23-member Indian detachment. The taskforce comprising of the helicopter carrier HMS ocean accompanied by two other warships and support vessels as well as soldiers from 42 Royal Marine Commando were rushed. More recently, the ongoing fighting in the West Bank involving Israel, Lebanon and Hezbollah had prompted Britain to mobilise ships to evacuate British nationals in Lebanon. Two Royal Navy ships were programmed to be on standby for an emergency evacuation of British nationals from the Lebanon. HMS Bulwark with a contingent of 500 marines was mobilised for evacuation and HMS Illustrious with helicopters and fighter-bombers on board, was to aid evacuation.
The primary attribute of the RRF should be its ability to react and move quickly to trouble spots either inside the country’s EEZ or outside in international waters. Although each crisis will demand a different force composition, it must be sea-based and not require other nation support for implementation. However, the force should be capable of operating with other partners or coalitions. The strength of the force must allow the flexibility to move the ships into a potential crisis area without moving additional personnel and escalating tensions.
It should be remembered that it is not easy to charter vessels at short notice for any disaster or rescue operations because there is not enough spare capacity in the shipping world. Most of the times it’s very hard to ask a ship to enter into combat zones and port’s facilities have their limitations. This problem has been faced by Australia and its Foreign Minister Alexander Downer noted that the failure to get a chartered ship for evacuation of Australians from Lebanon shows just how hard it is.
Among the several trends that appear to shape growth of India’s naval power, none is more demanding than the accrual of a dedicated MRRF flavoured with strategic sealift capability derived from the robust Indian technological strengths and the vision of its rising power in the Asia-Pacific region. The ongoing naval modernisation and build-up has several implications for its Naval ORBAT and its maritime doctrine that has envisioned a vision of maritime activism of varied roles of both combat and benign roles. These missions call for a spectrum of techno-maritime capabilities that in turn dictate the force architecture of the Indian Navy.
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