Oceanic Indians

When and where is it in India’s interest to use military force?

A month ago the Indian navy had sought permission to patrol the Gulf of Aden. The waterway is part of a crucial trade route and provides access from the Indian Ocean to the Suez Canal. In the past month too, the problem of Somali pirates has been highlighted, especially after the hijack of a Japanese vessel with 18 Indian crew members. This week the government finally gave a clear signal to the navy. Now the Indian navy will operate alongside other navies, including those of NATO members like the United States, Turkey and Britain, to secure the sea route. But the development raises larger questions about the global vision held by this country’s civil and military leadership.

Pro-active patrol of the Gulf of Aden was long overdue. By one estimate, Somali pirates have taken at least 29 ships and carried out more than 70 attacks this year, double the number from 2007. This area is part of the larger Indian Ocean region, and the importance of the Suez Canal for India’s trade interests is obvious. Besides coordinating patrols, navies have to work through many questions. For instance, as the International Maritime Bureau has pointed out, the international community will have to figure out who will take responsibility if pirates are caught. How India responds to this challenge would be indicative of the role it expects to play in international security issues. By the evidence of the navy’s lead in proposing deeper participation in global security issues, the civil leadership needs to update its assessment of India’s military power and the uses it could be put to. This would involve greater responsiveness to issues and developments that could have a bearing on Indian interests.

So far India’s military participation overseas has been in agreement with assessments of global institutions. Therefore, primarily India’s soldiers have been deployed in United Nations peacekeeping operations. But can India afford to completely cede the judgment on its role in regional and global security to third parties like the UN?