U S and India consider joint patrols in South China Sea - U S official


New Delhi, Feb 10 (Reuters) : The United States and India have held talks about conducting joint naval patrols that a U.S. defence official said could include the disputed South China Sea, a move that would likely anger Beijing, which claims most of the waterway.

Washington wants its regional allies and other Asian nations to take a more united stance against China over the South China Sea, where tensions have spiked in the wake of Beijing's construction of seven man-made islands in the Spratly archipelago.

India and the United States have ramped up military ties in recent years, holding naval exercises in the Indian Ocean that last year involved the Japanese navy.

But the Indian navy has never carried out joint patrols with another country and a naval spokesman told Reuters there was no change in the government's policy of only joining an international military effort under the United Nations flag.

He pointed to India's refusal to be part of anti-piracy missions involving dozens of countries in the Gulf of Aden and instead carrying out its own operations there since 2008.

The U.S. defence official said the two sides had discussed joint patrols, adding that both were hopeful of launching them within the year. The patrols would likely be in the Indian Ocean where the Indian navy is a major player as well as the South China Sea, the official told Reuters in New Delhi on condition of anonymity.

The official gave no details on the scale of the proposed patrols.

There was no immediate comment from China, which is on a week-long holiday for Chinese New Year.

China accused Washington this month of seeking maritime hegemony in the name of freedom of navigation after a U.S. Navy destroyer sailed within 12 nautical miles of a disputed island in the Paracel chain of the South China Sea in late January.

The U.S. Navy conducted a similar exercise in October near one of China's artificial islands in the Spratlys.

MARITIME COOPERATION

Neither India nor the United States has claims to the South China Sea, but both said they backed freedom of navigation and overflight in the waterway when U.S. President Barack Obama visited New Delhi in January 2015.

Obama and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi also agreed at the time to "identify specific areas for expanding maritime cooperation".

More than $5 trillion in world trade moves through the South China Sea each year. Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, the Philippines and Taiwan also claim parts of the waterway.

In December, the issue of joint patrols came up when Indian Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar visited the U.S. Pacific Command in Hawaii, an Indian government source said.

"It was a broad discussion, it was about the potential for joint patrols," said the source, who declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter.

India has a long-running land border dispute with China and has been careful not to antagonise its more powerful neighbour, instead focusing on building economic ties.

But it has stepped up its naval presence far beyond the Indian Ocean, deploying a ship to the South China Sea almost constantly, an Indian navy commander said, noting this wasn't the practice a few years ago.

The commander added that the largest number of Indian naval ship visits in the South China Sea region was to Vietnam, a country rapidly building military muscle for potential conflict with China over the waterway.

Still, the idea of joining the United States in patrols in the region was a long shot, the officer added.

The Philippines has asked the United States to do joint naval patrols in the South China Sea, something a U.S. diplomat said this month was a possibility.

  

Top Stories

Comment on this article

  • Valerian D'souza, Udupi / Mumbai

    Wed, Feb 10 2016

    China anyway a close and strategic friend of Pakistan,
    Till then there is no possibility of improving relations.
    In that perspective, it is ideal for India to go ahead with Joint patrol in South China Sea, though China will be angered.
    China never minds India's anger when it equips Pakistan against India. It enjoys that.
    We have to see, where we are placed now and with whom we will get along well.
    U.S. also want to counter China using India, which will anger Pakistan.
    However no relations will work perfectly forever.

    DisAgree Agree [4] Reply Report Abuse

  • CHRIS, DUBAI

    Wed, Feb 10 2016

    China's Christians are rapidly growing in number,If god will's one day the christian majority will topple the present communist government ,then i am sure China will no longer be a threat to India ...

    DisAgree Agree [2] Reply Report Abuse

  • Amin Bhoja, Patte / Riyadh

    Wed, Feb 10 2016

    India slowly spreading it's wings in the sea!!! and showing it's clear message towards china!!!Don't meddle !!!

    DisAgree Agree [1] Reply Report Abuse

  • Jossey Saldanha, Mumbai

    Wed, Feb 10 2016

    Who is going to protect India from LAND INVASION by China & Pakistan ...

    DisAgree [7] Agree [6] Reply Report Abuse

  • Sudhakar, Kallianpur

    Wed, Feb 10 2016

    Jossey,

    We the real citizens of India, not those who stays here but still think that they are outsiders.

    DisAgree [3] Agree [11] Reply Report Abuse

  • Flavian, Mangaluru/Kuwait

    Wed, Feb 10 2016

    Now China & Pakistan may start their joint Naval exercise from Western side.

    DisAgree [3] Agree [3] Reply Report Abuse

  • Vincent Rodrigues, Promenade Road,Frazer Town,B'lore

    Wed, Feb 10 2016

    China may not agree for this joint operation.

    DisAgree [1] Agree [7] Reply Report Abuse


Leave a Comment

Title: U S and India consider joint patrols in South China Sea - U S official



You have 2000 characters left.

Disclaimer:

Please write your correct name and email address. Kindly do not post any personal, abusive, defamatory, infringing, obscene, indecent, discriminatory or unlawful or similar comments. Daijiworld.com will not be responsible for any defamatory message posted under this article.

Please note that sending false messages to insult, defame, intimidate, mislead or deceive people or to intentionally cause public disorder is punishable under law. It is obligatory on Daijiworld to provide the IP address and other details of senders of such comments, to the authority concerned upon request.

Hence, sending offensive comments using daijiworld will be purely at your own risk, and in no way will Daijiworld.com be held responsible.