• Navy Day Focus: Bolstering India’s Maritime Role on the World Stage

By Maj Gen (Dr.) Ashok Kumar, VSM (Retired)

New Delhi. 04 December 2024. Since the activation of appointment of Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), there has been an increasing focus on Jointness, Integration and Theaterisation. The thought has gained substantial momentum in the recent past. It has been almost certain that Theaterisation will get announced in an early time frame once necessary building blocks for integrated and joint warfighting are operationalised. It is in this backdrop that the recent emphasis of current CDS indicates newer challenges for the growing role of Indian Navy (IN) on the regional and international scenes.

             CDS with Russian Navy Chief

CDS emphasizes, “India’s geography also encourages an insular outlook. It can be termed as an island nation by virtue of its peninsular shape which is jutting almost 2000km into the Indian Ocean.” It is obvious that this thought at the apex level brings in new focus areas for IN. What could be a better day than this  Navy Day celebrated on 4th Dec to undertake comprehensive reappraisal of its capabilities, future roles and necessary steps needed to accomplish these roles through indigenous equipment.

While AF celebrates Indian Airforce Day on 8th Oct which is linked to the establishment of this service on 8th Oct 1932 by the British Empire, Indian Army celebrates the Army Day on 15th Jan based on the date when first Indian took over as Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Indian Navy has adopted the Navy Day as 4th Dec as it was this very day in 1971 when Indian Navy sank four Pakistani vessels in Operation Trident. The approach of Navy to select the Navy Day is more pragmatic and nuanced as it is related to an operational activity of wartime that too the war of 1971 which is an exemplary act of the Indian Defence Forces with no parallels anywhere in the world. The 1971 War created a new country in just about two weeks’ time besides having captured more than 93000 Prisoners of War (POW). This included a substantial contribution by IN which makes selection of 4th Dec as Navy day as an apt recognition and will continue to motivate all naval personnel for times to come.

Then there is a rotational policy to celebrate these days since last two years. In accordance with the current plan, Navy is celebrating the Navy Day at the sacred location of Puri at Odisha Sea coast located on the Eastern sea coast of India. Some may look at the selection of this venue as one of the  very many venues which are available in the country but there appears to be a great signalling in selecting this venue. Like all other components of the Indian defence forces, Navy was also considering Pakistan as a prime adversary and therefore, more effort was focused on the Western sea coast and the Arabian Sea. Now with new threat assessment wherein China is making major inroads in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) and is our primary adversary, it’s natural for the Indian defence forces to develop its capabilities to handle this new China challenge if some adversarial situation emerges in future despite India always advocating non expansionist agenda and adherence to international rule-based order. Despite being a non-resident power in IOR, China has made inroads in Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Bangladesh from the naval perspective having an impact on the Eastern coast of India. Therefore, the celebration of the Navy Day in Puri, Odisha has special significance.

This celebration needs to go much beyond signalling whether intended or otherwise. As India aspires to become a developed nation by 2047, IN has to take a pledge this Navy Day to work in the ‘mission mode’ to structure it to discharge the rational responsibilities in all the domains. Despite not being part of any security alliance like NATO, IN exercises with a large number of navies of  the world which helps it to develop necessary interoperability, be it at process level or equipment level. This thrust needs to be intensified with every passing day as India of 2047 will not only be required to work for its own national interests but also those of friendly foreign countries. India is already helping a large number of countries for Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) including those countries like Türkiye who have been working against our country. Further HADR capabilities will need to be built, but more capability needs to be built in the operational capabilities/domains.

To become the most important constituent of  Theaterised Defence Forces matching with national aspirations, the following areas will need to be attended on priority:

  • Indigenous Capabilit While the Navy has made substantial progress in this field but it needs to do much more. Whether it is the need of marine engines or other equipments, 100 percent indigenisation is an inescapable necessity. In its wake, it has to factor the capability growth requirements of the Indian Coast Guard as well as civilian shipping industries as it is this collective capability development which is critical to nation building.
  • Force Restructuring. The current strength of IN fleet is much less than the challenges it faces from its adversaries. It needs to increase the number of aircraft carriers, destroyers, frigates, submarines and all other force constituents. The PLA Navy has grown substantially in the recent past and continues to grow with unprecedented pace. Besides, it is also equipping Pakistani Navy. It is essential that Indian Navy reassesses its force requirement and develops adequate quantum of forces for discharging its role as and when the necessity so arises. The force structuring needs to factor both the requirements i.e. of peace as well as war.
  • Regional and International Alliances. There are always some disruptions to the flow of traffic passing through the oceans both by state as well as non-state actors. The Indian Navy needs to respond to such situations not necessarily with its own constituents but also with other constituents of Indian Defence Forces to include Army and Air force. Not only this, the coordinated functioning with our friendly foreign countries will also be needed. All this was demonstrated during disruption of Red Sea traffic by Houthis some time back. Many more such opportunities and challenges will keep coming for which internal as well as external  interoperabilities will be needed. Large number of exercises are currently being undertaken which have not only to be increased in frequency but identification of interoperable processes and equipments have to be worked upon.
  • Adoption of Niche Technologies and Modern Trends of Warfighting. Niche technologies are causing major disruptions which need to be factored in our warfighting including in IN. These will have major impact on force restructuring as well as on methods of prosecuting operations. Unmanned systems as well as Manned Unmanned Teaming (MUMT) are also going to affect our forces in a big way. IN is no exception. It can transform itself with these to get the optimum results.

Since the event is on 4th Dec, only four aspects have been highlighted but there are many more. It is obvious that the stakeholders must be working to look at all associated aspects and this Navy Day will bring the new resolve to create the IN with a difference in consonance with the vision of CDS to look at India in a different way altogether.

(Maj Gen Ashok Kumar, VSM (Retd) is Director General Centre for Joint Warfare Studies (CENJOWS), a Kargil war veteran and a defence analyst. He specialises on neighbouring countries with special focus on China. The views in the article are solely the author’s. He can be contacted at editor.adu@gmail.com).