Indian Navy awaits regional nod for patrolling Malacca Straits
Dated 7/6/2006
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New Delhi: The Indian Navy has chalked out plans to patrol the Malacca Straits against sea piracy if called upon to do so, but a decision on that would have to come from the highest political levels after the regional countries agree to this, defence officials say.
The US, given its growing comfort level with India and their growing strategic relationship, is delegating to New Delhi a role that would have been unthinkable even a few years ago.
Gen. Peter Pace, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, has thrown his weight behind the move.
'Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore are discussing (the issue) and we are very comfortable with the fact that India has offered its assistance (in patrolling the nearly 1,000-km-long waterway),' Pace said here Monday.
A senior US Navy officer had spoken in the same vein late last month, contending that Washington saw a greater role for the Indian Navy in the Malacca Straits region.
'Let me make it very clear - the US is not interested in patrolling the region. It is for the littoral states to do so. India and Japan also have a more active role to play,' Admiral Gary Roughead, commander of the US Pacific Fleet, said at a select media briefing here.
Some 50 percent of India's trade passes through the Malacca Straits, among the world's busiest sea-lanes. Although there have been no pirate attacks from January-March - as against 38 in 2004 - India quite naturally has a stake in ensuring the region remains peaceful, the officials pointed out.
The International Maritime Bureau has reported there was only one instance of sea piracy during July-December last year. However, citing the 2004 attacks, Lloyd's of London listed the waterway as a 'war-risk area' and hiked insurance premiums for transiting ships.
'This is a highly sensitive issue and while the navy has done some homework on the issue, the nod would have to come from the highest levels of the political leadership as the littoral states of the region have to first agree to this,' said the officials, who have studied the issue.
Offering to help secure the Malacca Straits against sea piracy, Indian Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee said over the weekend that New Delhi would be willing to assist in any capacity the littoral states felt necessary.
'India has developed capabilities in various aspects of maritime security and would be most willing to share its expertise with the countries of the region,' he was quoted as saying during his address at the just-concluded fifth Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore.
Given the lack of naval assets among the littoral states of the region, this leaves only India and Japan with capabilities to effectively patrol the Malacca Straits.
Japan, however, does not have a regular navy but only a self-defence maritime force and a Coast Guard that, as it is, has its hands full. As for India, sole patrolling is not acceptable to the littoral states, but they might be agreeable to joint policing with Japan.
A beginning was made during Operation Enduring Freedom - the 2001 US-led invasion of Afghanistan - when Indian Navy ships escorted US HVVs (high value vessels) like oil tankers through the Malacca Straits.
What also helps is the India-Indonesia agreement for joint patrolling of their International Boundary Line (IBL).
'At the moment, it's just rudimentary patrolling that is conducted twice a year by each side. It's a small beginning that could turn into a larger arrangement (in the Malacca Straits), the officials pointed out.
Singapore's stand on the issue is also helpful. Defence Minister Teo Chee Hean, speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue, said he welcomed the Indian offer but it would have to be accepted by the other littoral states.
'They must be respectful of international law as well as the sovereignty of the littoral states,' Teo pointed out.
But, with Malaysia ambivalent on the issue, it could be a while before Indian Navy vessels become a permanent fixture in the Malacca Straits.
