By: Azhar Azam
*This is one of my opinion pieces (unedited) that first appeared at "China Global Television Network (CGTN)":
https://news.cgtn.com/news/2019-09-09/India-should-clear-its-opaque-position-on-South-China-Sea-JQ8db5Lcl2/index.html
Defense cooperation between India and Japan is growing rapidly. Alongside the United States, both countries will be holding a trilateral maritime exercise – Malabar 2019 – in Japan later this month. Malabar originally was a bilateral naval drill comprising New Delhi and Washington that was started in 1992. Japan joined as a permanent partner in 2015.
Apart from Malabar, another trilateral war games mine-countermeasures exercise (MINEX) will be conducted annually by the three countries. It was announced during Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh’s recent meeting with Japanese defense minister Takeshi Iwaya.
After the meeting, Indian defense ministry confirmed that there has been a significant progress on military logistics arrangement, Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement (ACSA). On Friday, India signed such an agreement with South Korea as well.
India and Japan would ink ACSA by the end of the year and would initiate to extend logistic support to each other’s navies. Indian strategic pacts with Japan and South Korea separately are likely to bolster the defense cooperation to meet their strategic military ambitions and amid “rising challenges from China”.
While Singh and Iwaya had a rare discussion on South China Sea – with ACSA onboard, India and Japan will take another stride in sharing military logistics for greater interoperability and navigation in the South China Sea. As the US has been proactive in the region, South China Sea is matter of vital national interest and sovereignty for China.
Indian defense ministry statement that said Indian and Japanese ministers “recognized that peace and stability of the Indian and Pacific Oceans” to ensure prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region and “frank exchange of views” on the developments “in the South China Sea” underscored a major shift in Indian foreign policy.
India has long ducked any reference to South China Sea in a bid not to infuriate Beijing but the latest comments tip-off its renunciation of its prior position. While the Indian unilateral action to carve out of Ladakh from Jammu and Kashmir has not cooled down yet, the renewed Indian approach threatens to fracture the relations between Beijing and India.
Moreover, Iwaya remarks about discoursing “China’s military activities” with Singh and the Indian reticence after its defense ministry’s press release breed further doubts. New Delhi therefore should come up with a vivid stance about its perspective on Indo-Pacific and the South China Sea.
India needs to clear its position also because on Thursday, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe on the sidelines of 5th East Economic Forum (EEF) in Vladivostok and “expressed his intention to take concrete steps to cooperate toward the realization of common vision of the Indo-Pacific.”
After meetings at G20 summit in Osaka and G7 summit in Biarritz, it was for the third time in a three-month period that the two leaders interacted and according to Japanese media, the leaders discussed security cooperation and efforts to maintain stability in the Indo-Pacific region, “amid concerns over China’s growing military presence in regional waters.”
On Wednesday, Japanese ambassador in India Kenji Hiramatsu secondedd the rapid growth of defense ties between the two countries. Abe will be visiting India in December and the first 2+2 ministerial meeting comprising foreign and defense ministers from both sides is expected to take place before his arrival.
Improved relations with any country are the indigenous and sovereign right of India and China acknowledges the Indian prerogative. Unlike the US, Beijing does not coerce its allies into a situation “You’re with us or against us”. However, it anticipates its partners to be absolute transparent in their bilateral dealings with China and more importantly, respect its sovereignty such as in South China Sea.
India should also prevent to indicate that its defense and strategic treaties across the countries of the world butt China. About Malabar 2016, India media outlets said that the exercise “assumed significance” at a time when "China has become more assertive, and their submarines forays in the Indian Ocean region have increased.”
In addition, Indian media behavior to portray Chinese state councilor and foreign minister Wang Yi ‘s visit to Pakistan as a negative fallout of Special Representatives’ border with Indian national security advisor Ajit Doval in oblivious.
Wang’s visit to India was not postponed due to Pakistan’s reservations; as a matter of fact, it has been delayed over “India’s schedule,” the Chinese foreign ministry clarified in a brief statement to a leading Indian media outlet.
China’s relations with almost all its neighbors are cordial so it is always prepared to resolve border and all other disputes with India through dialogue. But since Japanese and the US covert strategy lies in derailing Chinese efforts to prevail peace in East China Sea and South China Sea, India needs to be mindful.
Like Malabar 2016, the fresher naval maneuvers will be conducted in Japanese water. Thus, Tokyo could again use the exercise spy on China's military deployment in the waters and divert Chinese attention from South China Sea and East China Sea.
In the emerging tensed situation in the region, China expects India to clear its opaque position on the Indo-Pacific, the East China Sea, and the South China Sea that would help Beijing to maintain peace and stability in the region.
*This is one of my opinion pieces (unedited) that first appeared at "China Global Television Network (CGTN)":
https://news.cgtn.com/news/2019-09-09/India-should-clear-its-opaque-position-on-South-China-Sea-JQ8db5Lcl2/index.html
Defense cooperation between India and Japan is growing rapidly. Alongside the United States, both countries will be holding a trilateral maritime exercise – Malabar 2019 – in Japan later this month. Malabar originally was a bilateral naval drill comprising New Delhi and Washington that was started in 1992. Japan joined as a permanent partner in 2015.
Apart from Malabar, another trilateral war games mine-countermeasures exercise (MINEX) will be conducted annually by the three countries. It was announced during Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh’s recent meeting with Japanese defense minister Takeshi Iwaya.
After the meeting, Indian defense ministry confirmed that there has been a significant progress on military logistics arrangement, Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement (ACSA). On Friday, India signed such an agreement with South Korea as well.
India and Japan would ink ACSA by the end of the year and would initiate to extend logistic support to each other’s navies. Indian strategic pacts with Japan and South Korea separately are likely to bolster the defense cooperation to meet their strategic military ambitions and amid “rising challenges from China”.
While Singh and Iwaya had a rare discussion on South China Sea – with ACSA onboard, India and Japan will take another stride in sharing military logistics for greater interoperability and navigation in the South China Sea. As the US has been proactive in the region, South China Sea is matter of vital national interest and sovereignty for China.
Indian defense ministry statement that said Indian and Japanese ministers “recognized that peace and stability of the Indian and Pacific Oceans” to ensure prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region and “frank exchange of views” on the developments “in the South China Sea” underscored a major shift in Indian foreign policy.
India has long ducked any reference to South China Sea in a bid not to infuriate Beijing but the latest comments tip-off its renunciation of its prior position. While the Indian unilateral action to carve out of Ladakh from Jammu and Kashmir has not cooled down yet, the renewed Indian approach threatens to fracture the relations between Beijing and India.
Moreover, Iwaya remarks about discoursing “China’s military activities” with Singh and the Indian reticence after its defense ministry’s press release breed further doubts. New Delhi therefore should come up with a vivid stance about its perspective on Indo-Pacific and the South China Sea.
India needs to clear its position also because on Thursday, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe on the sidelines of 5th East Economic Forum (EEF) in Vladivostok and “expressed his intention to take concrete steps to cooperate toward the realization of common vision of the Indo-Pacific.”
After meetings at G20 summit in Osaka and G7 summit in Biarritz, it was for the third time in a three-month period that the two leaders interacted and according to Japanese media, the leaders discussed security cooperation and efforts to maintain stability in the Indo-Pacific region, “amid concerns over China’s growing military presence in regional waters.”
On Wednesday, Japanese ambassador in India Kenji Hiramatsu secondedd the rapid growth of defense ties between the two countries. Abe will be visiting India in December and the first 2+2 ministerial meeting comprising foreign and defense ministers from both sides is expected to take place before his arrival.
Improved relations with any country are the indigenous and sovereign right of India and China acknowledges the Indian prerogative. Unlike the US, Beijing does not coerce its allies into a situation “You’re with us or against us”. However, it anticipates its partners to be absolute transparent in their bilateral dealings with China and more importantly, respect its sovereignty such as in South China Sea.
India should also prevent to indicate that its defense and strategic treaties across the countries of the world butt China. About Malabar 2016, India media outlets said that the exercise “assumed significance” at a time when "China has become more assertive, and their submarines forays in the Indian Ocean region have increased.”
In addition, Indian media behavior to portray Chinese state councilor and foreign minister Wang Yi ‘s visit to Pakistan as a negative fallout of Special Representatives’ border with Indian national security advisor Ajit Doval in oblivious.
Wang’s visit to India was not postponed due to Pakistan’s reservations; as a matter of fact, it has been delayed over “India’s schedule,” the Chinese foreign ministry clarified in a brief statement to a leading Indian media outlet.
China’s relations with almost all its neighbors are cordial so it is always prepared to resolve border and all other disputes with India through dialogue. But since Japanese and the US covert strategy lies in derailing Chinese efforts to prevail peace in East China Sea and South China Sea, India needs to be mindful.
Like Malabar 2016, the fresher naval maneuvers will be conducted in Japanese water. Thus, Tokyo could again use the exercise spy on China's military deployment in the waters and divert Chinese attention from South China Sea and East China Sea.
In the emerging tensed situation in the region, China expects India to clear its opaque position on the Indo-Pacific, the East China Sea, and the South China Sea that would help Beijing to maintain peace and stability in the region.