With Russia acting tough on the Admiral Gorshkov carrier, the date of the proposed lease of Akula class nuclear submarine from Moscow is not yet clear.

But the contrast does not end here: China’s defence budget this year touched $197 billion as compared to $26 billion for the Indian armed forces; China has 492 shipyards, India has only five. And the Indian defence budget this year was increased only by 1.97 per cent.

With China focusing on a sea-based doctrine since 1996, New Delhi is also worried about the Chinese Woody Islands base in Parcel Islands. After forcing Vietnam out of Parcel Islands during the 1974 invasions, China has been building an air facility there with a strategic aim to project power more than 1,800 miles in the coming decades.

Armed with no less than 40 amphibious warships, the Chinese Navy is well on its way to acquire expeditionary capability, which will be a serious security concern to not only India but also to Japan, US and South Korea in the coming years.