China’s third aircraft carrier, Fujian, took to the seas last week for its maiden trials, a significant moment in its naval expansion to challenge the US global presence. The new aircraft carrier is named after the Fujian province and is the largest, most advanced Chinese aircraft carrier ever built. 

Fujian carrier departed from Shanghai’s Jiangnan Shipyard, and the trials will primarily test the reliability and stability of the aircraft carrier’s propulsion and electrical systems, state news agency Xinhua reported.

The trials will be conducted for almost two years before the carrier is inducted in another five years. The People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) is the “largest navy” in the world, surpassing the US with over 370 battleships, the US Department of Defense said. 

‘More Heavy, More Advanced’

The Fujian carrier is expected to weigh 79,000 tons, carrying the most potent fighter jet launch system – Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS). Currently, the USS Gerald R Ford, the world’s largest aircraft carrier, uses the EMALS launch system. The other Chinese aircraft carriers, Liaoning and Shandong, use the ski-jump system.

CATOBAR and STOBAR are two types of aircraft carrier platforms. Short Take-Off Barrier-Assisted Recovery (STOBAR) comprises an elevated ski-ramp that helps a fighter jet generate lift during a take-off. The STOBAR platform limits the aircraft’s take-off weight, thus affecting the payload capacity. 

Meanwhile, the CATOBAR system uses catapults for take-off. The CATOBAR-based carriers have a steam-powered catapult system, which requires more maintenance, is heavy, and takes more space than its alternative. The EMALS catapult offers more smooth, accurate launching of an aircraft carrier, allowing heavier fighter jets to take off. 

China operates only the Chengdu J-15, the ‘Flying Shark’, fighter jets for its carrier-based operations. J-15 is a fourth-generation fighter jet, which is deployed on its STOBAR carriers. However, the US has critiqued its range/payload limitations in operations from carriers equipped with ski ramps rather than catapults. 

In 2021, China developed a catapult-based version of the fighter jet and is developing its fifth-generation fighters to match the US F-35. The US Department of Defence, in its latest report on Chinese naval modernization, said China is reportedly building a fourth aircraft carrier similar to Fujian and is expected to be nuclear-powered. The Fujian aircraft carrier will be the first conventional-energy-powered platform with the EMALS system. 

China’s Naval Expansion

Since the 1990s, China has witnessed a paradigm shift, with a focus on naval expansion rather than the PLA. The shift was driven by its economic growth through the 90s and early 2000s, which led to a rise in Chinese presence in the global economy and turned it into the manufacturing hub of the world. The PLAN slowly transitioned from a defensive-offensive arm to a force that is capable of conducting out-of-area operations and earned the tag of a Blue Water navy. 

Modernisation, which began three decades ago, focused on ship, aircraft weaponry, fighter jets, creating doctrines, training, multilateral exercises etc. The 2015 Chinese white paper of Defence called for safeguarding the Sea Links of Communication (SLOC) as part of its national interests and said the sea links are vital to China’s future. The Indian Ocean, the maritime backyard of India, is the toll-gate for global East-West trade and China is establishing maritime bases south of India to protect its Maritime Silk Road (MSR). 

The Indian Ocean Region (IOR) is home to about 2.5 billion people, with some global economies, like India, a regional power, having a dominant presence in the region. The Strait of Hormuz, Bab-el-Mandeb, Strait of Malacca and the Mozambique Channel are choke points in the region and routes vital to China’s global trade. 

“The vital feature which differentiates the Indian Ocean from the Atlantic or the Pacific is the subcontinent of India, which juts out far into the sea for a thousand miles. It is the geographical position of India that changes the character of the Indian Ocean.” KM Pannikar, a visionary Indian scholar said. The Navy, in its maritime doctrine, says that safeguarding the IOR is in India’s national interest. 

The US DoD suggests that although these carriers have value for China, its operations in Taiwan do not require such platforms since it is within the land-based reach of Chinese aircraft. These platforms assert dominance and are viewed as symbols of power. In a face-off between the US and China, the former will outperform and outmanoeuvre the PLAN with its prowess. Politically, aircraft carriers could be particularly valuable to China for projecting an image of China as a major world power.

China wants its navy to be able to deter “US intervention in a conflict in China’s near-seas region over Taiwan or some other issue, or failing that, delay the arrival or reduce the effectiveness of intervening US forces,” a Congressional Research Service report said.

India’s Third Aircraft Carrier

Former Navy chief Admiral R Hari Kumar said last year that the indigenous aircraft carrier-2 (IAC-2) would be a repeat order of INS Vikrant. “We are still working on what size IAC II should be and the capabilities that are desired. But, for now, we have put a hold on it because we have just commissioned INS Vikrant and we are quite happy with the way the ship performed in the trials.” “A lot of expertise has been gained in building IAC I. We are seriously looking at a repeat order for IAC I rather than building IAC II. This would capitalize on the expertise available in the country and we could plough back into the economy,” he added. 

INS Vikrant and INS Vikramaditya are built on the STOBAR platform and house the MiG-29K fighter jets. The naval version of Rafale and Tejas are expected to replace the MiGs soon.

The production of INS Vishal would begin soon, but it would still take many years for the new carrier to get commissioned. The size of the Chinese economy and its three times bigger defence budget than India’s should be considered. 

The QUAD alliance between the US, India, Australia and Japan for safeguarding the Indo-Pacific region and the Indian Navy’s regular multilateral exercises in the region ensure regional presence and dominance. 

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Maldives Foreign Minister Moosa Zameer. File
| Photo Credit: PTI

Maldivian Foreign Minister Moosa Zameer on April 6 said India’s gesture to renew the quota to allow the export of certain quantities of essential commodities for his nation signifies the longstanding bilateral friendship and the commitment to further expand trade and commerce.

“India allowed the export of certain quantities of essential commodities for the year 2024-25 at the request of the Maldives government,” the Indian High Commission said, in Male, on April 5.

Announcing the move through a post on social media platform X, the Indian High Commissioner said that this was being done “under a unique bilateral mechanism” under which the quotas for each of these items have been revised upwards.

“The approved quantities are the highest since this arrangement came into effect in 1981,” the notice by the mission said. Mr. Zameer took to X to thank India for the move.

“I sincerely thank EAM @DrSJaishankar and the Government of #India for the renewal of the quota to enable #Maldives to import essential commodities from India during the years 2024 and 2025,” Mr. Zameer wrote.

“This is truly a gesture which signifies the longstanding friendship, and the strong commitment to further expand bilateral trade and commerce between our two countries,” he said.

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar responded to Zameer’s post, saying India stands firmly committed to its Neighbourhood First and SAGAR policies.

Security and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR) is India’s policy or doctrine of maritime cooperation in the Indian Ocean region. India’s ‘Neighbourhood First’ Policy underlines the renewed primacy that the country seeks to attach to its neighbouring countries.

The announcement for the renewal of the quota comes amidst a diplomatic row between the two countries since November last year when President Mohamed Muizzu, known for his pro-China leanings, within hours of taking the oath demanded India to repatriate its 88 military personnel from his country.

The relations further deteriorated when three Maldivian officials made crass comments after Prime Minister Narendra Modi posted photos and videos of the Lakshadweep Islands resulting in a heavy backlash by Indians, including many celebrities. #BoycottMaldives campaign resulted in a significant decline in Indian tourists to the island nation too.

The 1981 India and Maldives trade agreement provides for the export of essential commodities. According to the records from the Indian High Commission, growing from modest beginnings, India-Maldives bilateral trade crossed the $300 million mark for the first time in 2021, which further crossed the $500 million mark in 2022.

According to Friday’s announcement, there has also been an increase of 5% in the quotas for eggs, potatoes, onions, sugar, rice, wheat flour and dal (pulses).

Last year as well, India continued the export of rice, sugar and onions to the Maldives despite a worldwide ban on export of these items from India. “India remains strongly committed to supporting human-centric development in the Maldives, as part of its ‘Neighbourhood First policy,” it said.

“The quota for river sand and stone aggregates, crucial items for the booming construction industry in the Maldives, has been increased by 25% to 10,00,000 MT each,” it added.

Surrounded by the ocean, the islands in the Maldives and the many atolls don’t have enough river sand to support their construction industry, hence the need for importing sand and stone aggregates to the country.

New Delhi:

The Indian Navy is monitoring the developments in West Asia and also keeping a sharp watch on the Chinese Navy’s activities in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) by the hour, a top Navy officer said on Wednesday in the context of the escalating Hamas-Israel conflict.

Replying to a host of questions in a session at the Global Maritime India Summit 2023 here, Vice Admiral Dinesh Tripathi, who heads the crucial Western Naval Command, said the Navy is fully aware of Chinese activities in the IOR or the possible ripple effects of happenings in West Asia.

“There is constantly at this point of time there is someone in the naval headquarters or the command headquarters working on what could happen after whatever is happening in West Asia (a reference to the Hamas-Israel conflict),” he said.

The vice admiral said as far as the Chinese are concerned, we are keeping a sharp watch on whatever they are doing in the South China Sea.

“In the Indian Ocean, we are keeping a sharp watch as to where their research ship, spy ship, satellite tracking ship, warships (are) wherever they are by the hour,” Vice Admiral Tripathi said while replying to questions.

Earlier speaking at the event, the senior naval commander also said that piracy has been one of the constant challenges in the last 10-15 years, “It is largely contained through international cooperation and coordination,” he added.

Nityanand Rai, Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, said with India’s growing stature, its responsibility in the Indian Ocean is also increasing.

On the occasion, S Paramesh, Additional Director General, of the Indian Coast Guard, emphasised collectively increasing the sharing of information for better threat assessment and coordinated response.

“Investments in technologies like satellite surveillance and unmanned drones will greatly enhance maritime security efforts,” Mr Paramesh said.

Hostilities between Israel and Hamas began after armed Hamas militants based in the Gaza Strip launched an unprecedented attack on Israel by land, air, and sea on October 7. Since the start of hostilities, as many as 2,778 Palestinians have been killed.

Media reports have cited official Israeli sources as saying that at least 1,400 Israelis and foreign nationals have been killed in Israel.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

India’s Foreign Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar speaks during a media briefing of the 23rd Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) g in Colombo on October 11, 2023.
| Photo Credit: AFP

India wants to be a “friend to the world”, the voice of the global south, and will work to ensure a free, open and inclusive Indian Ocean region, said External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, speaking at the annual meeting of the 23-member Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) being held in Colombo, where he also raised the “dangers” of unsustainable debt. Mr. Jaishankar, who met with Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe, also witnessed the signing of three agreements on bilateral cooperation. The agreements include Indian assistance for housing projects, modernising schools and a new joint project between the Indian National Dairy Development Board, Amul cooperative and the Sri Lankan Cargill Group to increase milk production in Sri Lanka.

The Minister’s visit, three months after Mr. Wickremesinghe’s visit to Delhi, also comes days ahead of the Sri Lankan President’s travel to Beijing for the Belt and Road Forum, where he is expected to discuss the Sri Lankan debt crisis, and Chinese infrastructural projects. 

“We should be clear where the dangers are, be it in hidden agendas, in unviable projects or in unsustainable debt. Exchange of experiences, sharing of best practices, greater awareness and deeper collaboration are part of the solutions,” Mr. Jaishankar told a joint press appearance with the Foreign Ministers of Sri Lanka  M.U.M Ali Sabry and Bangladesh A.K. Abdul Momen, in comments he appeared to direct at China’s loans and projects to countries in the region. 

Talks with IMF

The conference in Colombo comes even as Sri Lanka’s government is continuing negotiations with the IMF for a $2.9 billion bailout to avoid a debt crisis, with the second tranche of $330 million not yet released. Sri Lanka has won support from India including through lines of credit, debt payment moratoriums, and currency swap arrangements worth almost $4 billion, and is hoping to finalise a debt restructuring package with China, one of its bigger creditors. 

After taking charge of the IORA forum on Wednesday, Mr. Sabry said Sri Lanka, which had last chaired the grouping in 2003-4, was a founding member, of the Bandung conference which led to the Non Aligned Movement, and also had introduced a UN resolution to declare the Indian Ocean region and airspace a “Zone of Peace” in 1971. 

Mr. Jaishankar said that the “spirit of 1971” Mr. Sabry had referred to was important, but that the IORA group must  “discourage any hidden agendas to the contrary”, and must follow the UN Convention on the Law of the Seas (UNCLOS) as the “Constitution of the Seas”. 

Also read: Bankrupt Sri Lanka gets China’s tentative agreement on debt restructure

“At a time of global polarisation, we are taking the position in IORA that we want an ocean free open and inclusive rules-based ocean for the benefit of all the countries of the region. We don’t want anyone to play a proxy war in the Indian ocean specific area,” Mr. Momen told The Hindu here, adding that there is immense global interest in IORA as the Indian Ocean, which sees 86% of global trade, is the “most important ocean”. 

During the meeting, Sri Lanka took over as Chair, while India took over as Vice Chair of the IORA grouping, that was started in 1997 and now includes 23 countries in south Asia, south east Asia and Australia, west Asia and Africa, all of whom are situated around the Indian Ocean. In addition, about 11 major powers are dialogue partners including China, U.S., U.K., Russia, Japan, Turkiye, and the most recent entrant Saudi Arabia. 

“Sri Lanka has a multicultural, multireligious ethos, and we see ourselves in the centre of the Indian Ocean,” former High Commissioner to India and the Executive Director General of the IORA Secretariat in Colombo Sudarshan Seneviratne told The Hindu. “Hosting such a major conference gives a symbolic message, that despite the economic crisis we had, we feel some confidence that we are holding our own and will come through it,” he added, when asked about the significance of holding a major conference now. 

New York:

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said it is “very reasonable” for India to “actually prepare” for a far greater Chinese presence than seen before in the Indian Ocean, asserting that the concerns in the strategically important region will be better addressed if the Quad countries work together.

“Pearls look benign unless you ask the oysters. They may have a slightly different perspective,” Mr Jaishankar said at the Council on Foreign Relations on Tuesday.

He was asked about growing Chinese activity in the Indian Ocean region, described as the “string of pearls”, and what the Quad grouping of India, the US, Australia and Japan should do to ensure that the balance of power does not shift in a way that would be adverse to India or the US.

Mr Jaishankar said if one were to look at the last 20-25 years, there’s been a steady increase in the Chinese naval presence and activity in the Indian Ocean.

“But there’s been a very sharp increase in the size of the Chinese navy. So when you have a very much bigger navy, that navy is going to be obviously visible in terms of its deployment somewhere,” he said, citing the examples of Chinese port-building in Gwadar in Pakistan and Hambantota in Sri Lanka.

“Now in many cases, I would say, looking back, maybe the governments of the day, the policymakers of the day, perhaps underestimated the importance of this and how these ports could work in future,” Mr Jaishankar said.

“Each one is a little unique in a way. And certainly, we obviously do watch many of them very carefully for any security implications that they have for us. So, from an Indian point of view, I would say it’s very reasonable for us…to not try and prepare but actually prepare for a far greater Chinese presence than we have seen before,” he said.

S Jaishankar pointed out that maritime concerns are not necessarily today between two nations and there are maritime issues for countries to deal with.

There are maritime threats of piracy, smuggling, terrorism and “if there is no authority, no monitoring, no force out there to actually enforce the rule of the law, it’s a problem,” he said.

The minister said if one looks at what historically used to be the American presence in the Indian Ocean, it is much less so today.

“So what it has done is, it has left gaps and it has left gaps at a time when threats have actually increased because the problem forces in a way, the problem people, actually are much more technologically adept than they were before,” he said.

S Jaishankar noted that there are global commons in the Indian Ocean region to be safeguarded and “there are concerns out there which are better addressed if the Quad countries work together”.

“Times have changed, force levels have changed, capabilities have changed, and certainly in those that have gone up, China is one of them. But there are countries with which we work and there are countries with which we don’t or we work less,” he said. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)