South China Sea: India’s Maritime Gateway to the Pacific

Abstract

This article looks at India’s interests and strategy in the South China Sea (SCS). First, it highlights India’s maritime interests and discusses the relevance of the SCS to these interests. It then examines some key ingredients of India’s evolving policy initiatives in the region. The article argues that with a considerable expansion of India’s engagement with the South China Sea littoral states, India appears to be genuinely emerging as an indispensable element in the strategic discourse of this region. India could be a valuable security partner for several nations in the Asia Pacific region, provided it sustains a high economic growth rate and nurtures the framework of partnership that it has enunciated in the region.

Notes

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3. Nong Hong, UNCLOS and Ocean Dispute Settlement: Law and Politics in the South China Sea, Routledge, London, 2012, p. 1.

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5. K. M. Panikkar, India and the Indian Ocean: An Essay on the Influence of Sea Power on Indian History, George Allen & Unwin Ltd, London, 1951, p. 14.

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9. US Energy Information and Administration, ‘South China Sea’, at http://www.eia.gov/countries/regions-topics.cfm?fips=scs.

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12. US Energy Information and Administration, ‘South China Sea’, no. 9.

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23. C. Raja Mohan, Samudra Manthan: Sino-Indian Rivalry in the Indo-Pacific, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Washington, DC, 2012, pp. 184–185.

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26. Nong Hong, no. 3, p. 1.

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29. K. M. Pannikkar, no. 5, p. 21.

30. Lalit Mansingh, ‘The Look East Policy and Its Implications’, in Amar Nath Ram (ed.), Two Decades of India’s Look East Policy: Partnership for Peace, Progress and Prosperity, Manohar Publishers, Delhi, 2012, pp. 198–199.

31. The LEP represents India’s efforts to cultivate extensive economic and strategic relations with its Southeast and East Asian neighbours.

32. Kanwal Sibal, ‘India’s Look East Again Policy’, in Amar Nath Ram, no. 30, p. 193. Emphasis added.

33. Ministry of External Affairs (Government of India), Annual Report 2012–13, Policy Planning and Research Division, Ministry of External Affairs, New Delhi, at http://www.mea.gov.in/Uploads/PublicationDocs/21385_Annual_Report_2012-2013_English.pdf.

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36. Speech by External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha at Harvard University, September 29, 2003, at http://www.mea.gov.in/Speeches-Statements.htm?dtl/4744/Speech+by+External+Affairs+Minister+Shri+Yashwant+Sinha+at+Harvard+University. Emphasis added.

37. K. M. Panikkar, no. 5, pp. 96–97.

38. Ibid., p. 97.

39. Opening Statement by Indian Prime Minister at 11th ASEAN–India Summit in Brunei Darussalam, October 10, 2013, at http://www.mea.gov.in/Speeches-Statements.htm?dtl/22307/Opening+Statement+by+Prime+Minister+at+11th+ASEANIndia+Summit+in+Brunei+Darussalam.

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41. S. D. Muni, ‘Look East Policy: Beyond Myths’, in Amar Nath Ram, no. 30, pp. 216–217.

42. Chietigj Bajpaee, ‘Reaffirming India’s South China Sea Credentials’, The Diplomat, August 14, 2013, at http://thediplomat.com/2013/08/reaffirming-indias-south-china-sea-credentials/.

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45. Arun Prakash, ‘Maritime Security of India: Future Challenges’, IDSA, November 26, 2013, at http://www.idsa.in/keyspeeches/MaritimeSecurityOfIndiaFutureChallenges.

46. ‘Critical’ in the context of a nuclear reactor indicates that a reactor is operating safely. When a nuclear reactor is operating normally, it is said to have gone critical.

47. Arun Prakash, no. 45.

48. S. D. Muni, ‘Look East Policy’, no. 41, pp. 217–218.

49. The Directorate of Strategy, Concepts and Transformation, Integrated Headquarters Ministry of Defence (Navy), ‘Freedom to Use the Seas: India’s Maritime Military Strategy, 2007‘, p. 11, at http://www.irfc-nausena.nic.in/irfc/ezine/maritime_strat.pdf.

50. Ibid., p. iii. Emphasis added.

51. See, for example, Ajay Kumar Das (ed.), ‘India–ASEAN Defence Relations’, RSIS Monograph, No. 28, at http://www.rsis.edu.sg/publications/monographs/Monograph28.pdf; Harsh V. Pant, ‘India in the Asia-Pacific: Rising Ambitions with an Eye on Rising China’, Asia Pacific Review, 14(1), 2007, pp. 54–71; see also Harsh V. Pant, ‘China Rises, India Ponders: India’s “Look East” Policy Gathers Momentum’, The Fearless Nadia Occasional Papers on India-Australia Relations, Vol. 1, Spring 2013, at http://www.aii.unimelb.edu.au/sites/default/files/China%20Nadia.pdf.

52. K. M. Panikkar, no. 5, p. 86.

53. S. D. Muni, ‘The Turbulent South China Sea Waters’, no. 28.

54. ‘Exim Bank Extends $100 mn Line of Credit to Vietnam’, The Hindu Business Line, September 17, 2014, at http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/exim-bank-extends-100-mn-line-of-credit-to-vietnam/article6419126.ece.

55. Interview with Dr. Ha Hoang Hop, Visiting Senior Fellow, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS), Singapore, March 10, 2015.

56. Ibid.

57. C. Raja Mohan, ‘Getting Real with Hanoi’, The Indian Express, November 19, 2013, at http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/getting-real-with-hanoi/1196589/0.

58. Manu Pubby, ‘Ready to Protect Indian Interests in South China Sea: Navy Chief’, The Indian Express, December 4, 2012, at http://www.indianexpress.com/news/ready-to-protect-indian-interests-in-south-china-sea-navy-chief/1040119/.

59. India’s external affairs minister and the president of India visited Vietnam in August and September 2014 respectively. The Vietnamese prime minister visited India in October 2014.

60. See ‘Joint Communiqué between the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the Republic of India’, Hanoi, Vietnam, September 15, 2014, at http://www.presidentofindia.nic.in/press-release-detail.htm?1105.

61. Press Information Bureau, Government of India, Prime Minister’s Office, ‘English Rendering of the Prime Minister’s Media Statement during the Visit of Prime Minister of Vietnam to India’, October 28, 2014, at http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=110863.

62. See ‘Joint Statement on the State Visit of Prime Minister of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam to India’, October 28, 2014, at http://www.mea.gov.in/bilateral-documents.htm?dtl/24142/Joint+Statement+on+the+State+Visit+of+Prime+Minister+of+the+Socialist+Republic+of+Vietnam+to+India+October+2728+2014.

63. Ibid.

64. Niclas D. Weimar, ‘Sino-Indian Power Preponderance in Maritime Asia: A (Re-)source of Conflict in the Indian Ocean and South China Sea’, Global Change, Peace & Security, 25(1), 2013, p. 20.

65. ‘Joint Statement on 2nd India–Philippines Joint Commission on Bilateral Cooperation’, October 21, 2013, at http://www.mea.gov.in/in-focus-article.htm?22362/Joint+Statement+on+2nd+IndiaPhilippines+Joint+Commission+on+Bilateral+Cooperation+October+21+2013.

66. Tarra Quismundo, ‘India Backs PH Arbitration Bid to Solve Sea Dispute’, Philippine Daily Inquirer, October 24, 2013, at http://globalnation.inquirer.net/88541/india-backs-ph-arbitration-bid-to-solve-sea-dispute. See also ‘India, Philippines Set to Upgrade Ties, Reinvigorate Relations’, Firstpost, October 23, 2013, at http://www.firstpost.com/fwire/india-philippines-set-to-upgrade-ties-reinvigorate-relations-1188189.html.

67. ‘Joint Statement on Five Initiatives for Strengthening the India–Indonesia Strategic Partnership’, October 11, 2013, at http://pib.nic.in/newsite/erelease.aspx?relid=100004.

68. It was agreed at the 2013 IORA Council of Ministers meeting to change the name of the Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation (IOR-ARC) to the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA).

69. Rohan Mukherjee and Clara Marina O’Donnell, ‘Challenges of a Multipolar World: The United States, India, and the European Union in the Asia-Pacific’, Young Strategists Forum Series, July 11, 2013, at http://www.gmfus.org/publications/challenges-multipolar-world-united-states-india-and-european-union-asia-pacific.

70. See ‘US–India Joint Strategic Vision for the Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean Region’, The White House, Office of the Press Secretary, January 25, 2015, at https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2015/01/25/us-india-joint-strategic-vision-asia-pacific-and-indian-ocean-region.

71. Felicia Schwartz, ‘Pentagon Voices China Concerns’, The Wall Street Journal, April 8, 2015, p. 3.

72. See US–India Joint Statement—‘साँझा प्रयास - सबका विकास’—‘Shared Effort; Progress for All’, January 25, 2015, at https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2015/01/25/us-india-joint-statement-shared-effort-progress-all.

73. Harsh V. Pant, ‘China Rises, India Ponders’, no. 51, p. 7.

74. See P. S. Suryanarayana, ‘Sino-Indian Panchsheel and Japan’s Overture to India’, ISAS Insights, No. 240, January 17, 2014. See also P. S. Suryanarayana, ‘Decoding India-Japan and Sino-Pak Talks’, ISAS Brief, No. 284, June 6, 2013.

75. Raja Menon, ‘An India–Japan Alliance Brewing?’, The National Interest, January 22, 2014, at http://nationalinterest.org/commentary/india-japan-alliance-brewing-9748?page=show.

76. Brahma Chellaney, ‘Japan and India: A Transformative Entente’, Nikkei Asian Review, January 23, 2014, at http://asia.nikkei.com/Viewpoints/Geopolitico/Japan-and-India-a-transformative-entente.

77. ‘India and Japan Hold Defence Dialogue’, Joint Press Release, Press Information Bureau, Government of India, March 30, 2015, at http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=117830.

78. Indrani Bagchi, ‘India Ignores China’s Frown, Offers Defence Boost to Vietnam’, The Times of India, October 29, 2014, at http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/India-ignores-Chinas-frown-offers-defence-boost-to-Vietnam/articleshow/44965272.cms.

79. Confidential interview with a senior Vietnamese scholar in March 2015.

80. ‘India–Republic of Korea Joint Statement: Towards a Strategic Partnership’, January 25, 2010, at https://www.mea.gov.in/bilateral-documents.htm?dtl/3301/IndiaRepublic+of+Korea+Joint+Statement+Towards+a+Strategic+Partnership.

81. Joon-gyu Lee, ‘India–South Korea Strategic Partnership’, May 2013, The IPCS Ambassador Lecture Series, at http://www.ipcs.org/pdf_file/issue/SR140-Korea-Ambassador.pdf.

82. C. Raja Mohan, Samudra Manthan, no. 23, p. 107.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Rajeev Ranjan Chaturvedy

Rajeev Ranjan Chaturvedy is a Research Associate at the Institute of South Asian Studies (ISAS), National University of Singapore. Views expressed are personal and do not necessarily reflect those of the ISAS.