After the signing of a defense pact between the United States and the Maldives in September 2020, some Indian analysts counsel the need for New Delhi to hedge against the possibility of an “over-crowding of the neighborhood strategic space in the Indian Ocean.” While they welcome an American forward presence in the Indian Ocean region as a vital hedge against China, some Indian observers believe that an excessive U.S. Yet voices in India’s strategic community urge caution. An accent on multilateral maritime drills, such as the recent Quad-plus-France exercise in the eastern Indian Ocean, has served to signal to Beijing that like-minded democracies are prepared to stand up for free trade and a rules-based order. New Delhi has welcomed Washington’s strategic outreach to wider South Asia, displaying greater willingness for cooperative endeavors in the Indian Ocean region. With India’s greater arms procurements from the United States and the inking of the foundational agreements, Indian readiness for integrated operations in the littorals has also grown. Since the signing of the U.S.-India Joint Strategic Vision Statement for the Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean Region in 2015, the emphasis has been on the development of closer maritime ties, with concerted efforts by both sides to expand engagement and interoperability with exercises such as Malabar, which now involves the participation of Quad countries of India, America, and Japan (all permanent members) and Australia. ![]() In recent years, as China has continued its rise as an economic, political, and military power, India and the United States have sought a deeper strategic relationship. Navy could aid the Indian navy materially and technologically in ways that might create greater stability and peace in the Indian Ocean. The general view among Indian commentators is that the best course for the United States and India is a middle path, whereby the U.S. Navy has been increasingly active, obtruding - wittingly or unwittingly - on what many in India see as India’s sphere of natural influence. As this essay explains, despite warming bilateral ties, New Delhi and Washington have somewhat incompatible expectations in the Indian Ocean, where the U.S. Navy, particularly in the aftermath of the India-China border clash in June last year, Indian observers believe that prevailing circumstances in the eastern Indian Ocean do not merit increased pressure by the U.S. ![]() While the Indian navy has sought closer engagement with the U.S. Despite strong ties with the United States and a shared understanding of China’s aggressive rise in the Indo-Pacific, New Delhi remains wary of a large U.S. Washington’s moves, however, are a tad too much for India’s comfort. Navy to stage a return to the Indian Ocean region. analysts believe the time is right for the U.S. With the maturation of the Quad, a loose security partnership of the United States, India, Australia, and Japan, many U.S. There is a growing sense in Washington that the free and open Indo-Pacific strategy has neglected the Indian Ocean region, where China has made steady inroads. ![]() While much of America’s focus is on tackling China’s grey zone challenge in the East Asian littorals, the Indian Ocean, too, is receiving more attention than ever. Marine Corps have bolstered their deployments, jointly conducting expeditionary strike force operations in the South China Sea. Following the Biden administration’s announcement of ambitious plans to counter China, the United States has moved to boost its military presence in the Indo-Pacific region. 7th Fleet press release that said the operation was carried out in India’s exclusive economic zone “without requesting India’s prior consent” to assert “navigational rights and freedoms”-language that many Indian observers saw as needlessly provocative.Īnalysts in India should not have been surprised. The disquiet in New Delhi was compounded by a U.S. ![]() Indian observers were mystified by the timing of maneuver, coming as it did at a moment when U.S.-Indian relations are on a high. India’s strategic community was in a frenzy last month after USS John Paul Jones carried out a freedom of navigation exercise near India’s Lakshadweep Islands.
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