Naval Interest:

How Far Will The Dragon Swim?

THE TIGER VISITS THE LAND OF RISING SUN:Indian and Japanese Naval Units Exercised Together Recently.

 The "Tiger" (Indian Navy) transited out of the Indian Ocean, passed the Dragon's lair (Chinese Coast) and entered the waters of the "Land of the Rising Sun" during the week that started June 6, 2012. India and Japan both have concerns over a certain swimming dragon that lives between them. Supposedly, this concern had little to do with their recent joint naval exercise which focused on search and rescue operations. The Dragon, no doubt, saw things differently. Indian and Japanese naval forces have exercised together before, but as part of international exercises that involved additional navies. This time India and Japan got together on their own with no third party broker. 

 Four vessels of the Indian Navy participated in the exercise; a destroyer a supply ship, a frigate, and a corvette. The Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force (JMSDF) provided numerous naval aircraft and two destroyers. The exercise was the result of a visit to Japan last year by Indian defense minister A K Anthony. Later a number of Japanese naval vessels will travel to Indian naval facilities.and take part in another military exercise. 

 The names of the participating Japanese naval vessels were not available to us at press time. We also have relatively little information right now on the Indian exercise participants. We do have the following however,  The Indian ships included a SHIVALIK class frigate, a KASHIN class guided destroyer, the INS RANA was probably involved since she was in the immediate area having just finished a visit and exercise with South Korea.

 While the exercise was low key and focused on search and rescue the dragon could not help but notice the following points which we noticed. First this exercise was strictly bilateral, there was no third party broker, most notably the United States. This may have been an exercise based on search and rescue operations but these weren't salvage tugs participating, but powerful warships of both nations. Navies that "cooperate" in missions like search and rescue, and humanitarian operations have a much easier time in cooperating in combat operations if the need arises. Extensive "cooperation" can lead to near virtual "interoperability" comparable to the NATO fleet. Clearly the Tiger and the Land of the Rising Sun are intent on keeping their sovereignty and territory intact, with or without a "big brother" in the form of a United States naval commitment. 

 While India and the United States continue to hold each other at arms distance over a variety of issues, it is virtually inconceivable that the United States would not come to the military defense of Japan. The United States has committed to increasing its Pacific Fleet even while absorbing budget cuts. In the face of the independent resolve of Japan and India alone, the dragon my find long distance swimming not as attractive as it once thought. The challenge to the United States is to find a way to resolve differences with India, the world's largest democracy, and present a united front against all of the Dragon's overseas territorial ambitions that run counter to traditional international law. Our thought is that such a united front need not have an American face.

  At stake are the legitimate territorial sea and exclusive economic zone rights of our stalwart but weak ally the Philippines, and China's weaker neighbors like Vietnam, as well as our use of important trade routes. India, with its relatively non aligned credentials, could be an honest broker in forums where these maritime boundary disputes are eventually determined. By contrast the United States and its closest allies in the area would present a "face" issue for the Chinese leadership in these matters. India and Japan are the most powerful states directly affected by the Dragon's maritime territorial ambitions.  The United States has several horses in this race but no territory. One has to wonder if we wouldn't be well advised to let Japan and India take the lead in both political demands and naval presence while we insure that the Dragon understands that no matter how big the swimming dragon grows, the U.S. Pacific fleet will put its throw weight behind Japan and India if push comes to shove. However, out of respect for the greater immediate stake that India and Japan have in the good behavior of the swimming dragon, and acknowledgement of the fact that we have no territory at risk; we are content for the time being to simply back the hand of these two strong regional powers.