INDIA launched a new naval research centre for warships today, part of efforts by the South Asian giant to build its sea defences and counter the perceived threat of China in the Indian Ocean.
Defence Minister AK Antony laid the foundation stone for the National Institute for Research and Development in Shipbuilding (NIRDESH) in Kerala, which will be built at a cost of Rs6bn ($133m/£85.18m).
The facility, which will be up and running in two years, will help develop technology for “drawing board to delivery” of warships for the 136-vessel Indian navy, a naval official said in New Delhi.
The Kerala unit will work independently of the national Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), with the aim of reducing India’s dependence on military imports, which mostly come from Russia.
New Delhi is wary of growing Chinese influence around the Indian Ocean, where Beijing has funded or plans to invest in major infrastructure projects, including ports in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and military-ruled Myanmar.
In August, two Chinese warships raised eyebrows in Delhi when they sailed to neighbouring Myanmar for a rare visit to promote ties between the allied countries’ armed forces.
Retired admiral Arun Prakash, a former Indian naval chief, recently warned the Chinese navy will have more warships than the US within a decade and urged India to speed up its naval procurements.
Analysts said India was behind China measured by naval firepower, but the country should strive for supremacy in the strategic Indian Ocean, a vital shipping lane connecting Asia to Europe and the Middle East.
“Just because we cannot compete with China does not mean we do not defend our interests in the Indian Ocean where we want naval supremacy,” retired Indian navy rear admiral Raja Menon told reporters.
India has already begun strengthening its military presence in the isolated Andaman archipelago, which lies south of Myanmar, as part of plans to protect its interests in the Ocean.
New Delhi, which wants to boost its 14-strong submarine fleet, launched its first nuclear-powered submarine in 2009 and has invested in its military shipyards to start building an aircraft carrier and stealth frigates.
It also plans to buy eight long-range maritime spy planes by 2015 besides six Franco-Spanish Scorpene submarines for which orders were placed in 2006.
According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, China’s military spending was the second largest in the world after the US in 2009.
KPMG consultancy firm estimates India plans to spend $112bn (£71.72bn) on defence hardware between now and 2016.
India hiked its 2010-2011 military spending by four per cent to $32bn (£20.48bn) but analysts like rear admiral Menon warned the navy’s share of 16 per cent of the defence allocation is not enough to fuel its expansion plans.
