Naval Interest:

THE DRAGON AND THE TIGER

Let Us Introduce You to the Tiger

Updated 7/6/2017

 Tiger Photo by J. Patrick Fischer

Editor's Note: We first published this post in 2012 where we introduced our institutional shorthand for the two major actors in the Indian Ocean basin The "Tiger" (India) and the "Dragon" (China). We have received literally hundreds of thousands of visitors since then particularly since 2014. Most we hope have caught on to our terms of referral. However the editorial board felt it was time for a reintroduction. So in somewhat updated form here is our original introduction of the terms "Tiger" and "Dragon" . Of the two the "Tiger" (India) is a law abiding and trust worthy non aligned nation who does yeoman naval service in the Indian Ocean of much benefit to the world. The "Dragon" is a growing and powerful naval power resentful of existing international maritime law that tends to thwart it's imperial tendencies and ambitions.  Over time the "Dragon" has drawn more ink from us than the Tiger including the still on going "HOW FAR WILL THE DRAGON SWIM" series of analytic posts simply because the "Dragon seems to make trouble, raise alarms, and intrude on the territory of others almost daily. By contrast our coverage of the "Tiger" since 2012 has been pretty much limited to lauding new acquisitions of vessels, systems and skills, and occasionally offering sympathy for tragic accidents that seem inevitable and India continues to evolve from a craft of opportunity fleet to a domestically designed and built fleet. Basically we see the "Tiger" as the benign , even noble protector of the commons in the Indian Ocean, and the "Dragon" as an egg stealing marauder from the East and South China Seas to the Indian Ocean.

China, we refer to as "the Dragon" in our series on the People's Liberation Army Navy PLAN. The PLAN is one of the premier emerging navies of the world and is clearly slated for much more development by China. The Dragon has exhibited some interests in the Indian Ocean where lurks the "Tiger" our term for the Indian Navy. The Indian Navy is a fully emerged navy that has many years of successful aircraft carrier operations under its belt and is in possession of steady growth and modernization plans. The Indian Navy is making the term "Indian Ocean" more a reality every day. More over, this is the navy of the world's largest democracy. 

 Here at American Admiralty Books we make no bones about being admirers of the Indian Navy and we are concerned that U.S. /Indian relations are not warmer than they are. We have interests and commerce moving through the Indian Ocean at a time when we are badly stressed to provide naval coverage in the Pacific. The Obama administration started to "pivot" towards the Pacific. But problems and commitments such as counter piracy patrols and protecting oil routes are likely to present real challenges to a shrinking U.S. Navy requiring more ships in the Pacific. Like us, our NATO and EU allies are a long way from home, and in economic trouble, no doubt stressed to maintain the naval presence we need in the Indian ocean.  

Yet the Indian Ocean has a real navy and it belongs to a real democracy that has exhibited respect for the concept of freedom of the seas. We think it is time for all English speaking naval professionals to learn all they can about the Indian nation and its ever increasingly competent navy. We think the world can trust Indian leadership in the Indian Ocean but our leaders over the years have obviously left some doubt about our willingness to get behind this democratic regional leader. Just because India is not always willing to follow a Western lead does not mean that it can not be trusted with protecting international vessel traffic and enforcing international law in this vast ocean, where we have so much at stake and are so stressed to maintain serious naval presence. Its time to get serious about India being an important naval power, and unlike the Dragon, the Tiger's increasing, and in terms of the dragon, superior swimming ability is nothing that we have to be afraid of. 

 We urge our "Naval Interest" readers to join us in studying this powerful, and rapidly modernizing, and capable navy. Below are some hyperlinks to Indian Navy information, starting with their own English language web site: 

http://indiannavy.nic.in/

Here is a general description and history:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Navy

Here are some recent news items on the Indian Navy:https://www.google.com/webhp?source=search_app#q=Indian+navy&hl=en&prmd=imvnsu&source=univ&tbm=nws&tbo=u&sa=X&ei=DYHPT7jxDsXs6gGki5W_DA&sqi=2&ve