India's 12 Steps to a World Class Navy

8/13/2019 India's 12 Steps to a World Class Navy

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Indias 12 Steps To A World Class Navy

Dr. Thomas P.M. Barnett

Dr. Barnett is a proessor at the !.S. Naval War Colle"e #NWC$% servin" as a senior

strate"i& resear&her in the De&ision Strate"ies Department o the Center or NavalWarare St'dies. (e than)s Proessors Bradd (ayes and (an) *amradt% +earAdmiral Mi&hael M&Devitt% !SN #+et.$% and Dr. ,a-ren&e Modisett or their inp't to%and eeda&) on% this arti&le.

In /er'ary o this year% I had the pleas're o attendin" the Indian Navy0s irsteverInternational /leet +evie- in M'mai% -here I made a presentation to a symposi'ma'dien&e o 1 Chies o Naval Sta and do3ens o la" oi&ers rom an additional 14Navies. This leet revie-% -hi&h -ent y the motto 5Brid"es o /riendship%5essentially -as the Indian Navy0s 5&omin" o't5 party ater many years o 'ildin" 'pand moderni3in" its or&e str'&t're% mostly thro'"h orei"n p'r&hases.

6o' may as)% 5Comin" o't or -hat75 /ran)ly% that -as the real theme o the hi"hpo-ered symposi'm% as -ell as o n'mero's dis&'ssions I had -ith Indian la"oi&ers% oth a&tive and retired. In many -ays% this "rand &eleration -as the s-anson" or a "eneration o Indian admirals -ho propelled this on&e h'mle &oastalor&e to its &'rrent hei"hts as the -orld0s o'rthlar"est navy. Not only do they -antthe international &omm'nity to ta)e note and sho- some respe&t% 't they also areloo)in" or some &lear sense o -here their Navy its in this messy postCold Warse&'rity environment.

/'t're Path-ays o the Indian Navy

It is air to say that every Indian admiral I spo)e -ith represented his o-n s&hool otho'"ht% 't I sensed t-o road strate"i& a&tions% -hi&h I d' the Soviet S&hool andthe British S&hool. This division re&alls not only the per&eived operational disparityet-een the 8astern and Western leets #the ormer lon" &onsidered the 5+'ssianhal5 o the Indian Navy9 the latter the 5British hal5$ 't also the dieren&e et-een alandoriented "reat po-er0s strate"i& employment o naval or&e and that o a seaoriented one.

Not s'rprisin"ly% most o the British S&hool admirals I met had st'died at the !.S.

Naval War Colle"e. Conversely% I &o'ld dis&'ss my love or +'ssian poetry in theori"inal -ith those o the Soviet S&hool. I 'rther s'divide ea&h s&hool into t-o-in"s: those admirals -ho elieve the Indian ;&ean 5elon"s5 to the Indian Navy#and not to any 5meddlesome o'tsiders%5 in&l'din" the !.S. Navy$ and those -hoelieve the Indian Navy 5elon"s5 to somethin" lar"er typi&ally% the &olle&tive "oodo "loal maritime se&'rity.

P'ttin" those t-o a


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Pa)istani move to p't n'&lear missiles on its s'marines #1$. +e&allin" the SovietNavy0s astion strate"y% this is a "ono-here% dolittle navy.

2. SeaDenial Navy #Soviet S&hool = @loal Amition$. This is an antiChina navy thatsee)s to e


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step pro"ram% orro-in" lierally rom the selhelp literat're so pop'lar today in the!nited States. In ee&t% the senior oi&ers o the Indian Navy need to:

1. Admit they are po-erless over the Army and Air /or&e in determinin" nationalse&'rity priorities. ;ver the years India0s est and ri"htest did not >oin the Navy9

there -ere a lot more opport'nities to la'n&h "lorio's military &areers in the northa"ainst either the Pa)istanis or the Chinese. B't even i the "ro'nd po'nders r'lethe military roost% their deinition o national se&'rity is mostly internali3ed #-hathappens here$% -hereas the naval deinition sho'ld e almost e


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. Ma)e a sear&hin" and earless inventory o their la&) o involvement in re&entinternational &oalitions. In his impressive symposi'm presentation% retired IndianNavy +ear Admiral *. +a>a Menon noted ho- the Indian Navy has avoidedn'mero's opport'nities over the past "eneration to >oin m'ltinational maritime&oalitions in response to si"nii&ant re"ional instailities #e.".% tan)er -ars% IranIra?

War% Persian @'l War$% even tho'"h the Indian Army has lon" played a si"nii&antpea&e)eepin" role in !.N. operations. In short% he ar"'ed% the Indian Navy or ar toolon" has p'rs'ed an e


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#i.e.% hi"hte&hnolo"y prod'&er$ and a &lassi& 5olive tree5 so&iety #i.e.% still i"htin"over seemin"ly meanin"less its o land$ #4$. @ranted% the sa&red soil syndrome isnot "oin" to disappear anytime soon% 't some strate"i& alan&e is needed. And inthe military -orld% s'&h vision &an &ome only rom the naval servi&e.

J. Improve their relationships -ith all small littoral nei"hors. In many -ays theIndian Navy -o'ld li)e to s'pplant the !.S. Navy as the Indian ;&ean0s naval%net-or)in" ,eviathan the tr'sted i" rother everyone &an t'rn to in moments otro'le. In some -ays% this -ill never happen. By deinition% any re"ion0s smallerpo-ers -ant and need a distant riend -ho &an stand 'p to the nei"horhood 'lly%and or many small littoral states% India &omes &losest to ittin" that pe>orative title./rom India0s perspe&tive% they0re damned i they do and damned i they don0t: i theytry to a&t the part o re"ional he"emoni&% they -ill only s&are smaller po-ers into&loser relian&e on !.S. naval po-er% and yet in the asen&e o any prod'&tive inp't%India has a hard time demonstratin" to its nei"hors that it &an play a 'se'l% leadin"role in enalin" re"ional se&'rity. In s'm% India possesses too lar"e a navy not to

play a i""er staili3in" role in the Indian ;&ean espe&ially as the -ater-ay0s rolein -orld ener"y transers in&reases 't it needs to 'ild relationships o tr'st -ithits smaller nei"hors slo-ly over time.

H. Ma)e some amends to re"ional rivals. The ovio's &andidates here are Pa)istanand China% neither o -hi&h made it to the leet revie-% and that0s too ad. Pa)istan-as not invited% and China re'sed to &ome e&a'se its ally -as e


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so'th-est Asia ollo-in" the Persian @'l War: 5These are the a&ts o lie.5 Indiae&omes a "en'ine naval re"ional po-er only in &on>'n&tion -ith the !.S. Navy notin opposition to it% or even as a mar)eted alternative. The !.S. Navy is the Mi&rosoto -orld navies9 it simply sets too many operational standards and proto&ols to ei"nored.

12. (avin" a&hieved this a-a)enin" rom the strate"i& isolation o the Cold War%&arry their ne- messa"e o internationalism to the -orld. This year0s International/leet +evie- -as a "reat start. The Indian naval leadership ro'"ht me to this starst'dded "atherin" to as one retired vi&e admiral p't it 5Say somethin" ao't the't're to the >'nior oi&ers in the a&) o the hall.5 B't they also ro'"ht me toM'mai% >'st as they ro'"ht all those orei"n la" oi&ers% to impress 'pon me asense o all they have a&&omplished in 'ildin" this navy over the past ive de&ades%and -hat they hope to do -ith it in the 't're. And I did "o a-ay impressed% not only-ith the Indian Navy% 't also -ith the in&redile diversity% viran&y% and amitionthat is today0s India.

Why India Matters

As noted diplomat Sashi Tharoor ar"'es% India is proaly 5the most important&o'ntry or the 't're o the -orld.5#$ I "loali3ation s'&&eeds in the !nited Statesor the 8'ropean !nion% no one -ill e too s'rprised. Ater all% "loali3ation demandsless &han"e o these &o'ntries than it does o the -orld aro'nd them. And i"loali3ation ails in China or +'ssia% many li)e-ise -ill e 'ns'rprised% or itre?'ires m'&h &han"e rom oth so&ieties perhaps too m'&h too ?'i&)ly. B't-hether "loali3ation s'&&eeds in India sho'ld interest >'st ao't everyone aro'ndthe -orld% or i "loali3ation &an s'&&eed in a demo&rati& so&iety -here hal thepop'lation is illiterate and terrily impoverished% then it &an s'&&eed >'st ao'tany-here. Conversely% i it &annot s'&&eed in a reemar)et e&onomy that eat'resthe -orld0s lar"est pool o inormation te&hnolo"y -or)ers% there is little hope orm'&h o the -orld0s pop'lation.

Not too lon" a"o% Se&retary o Deense Donald +'mseld &hara&teri3ed India as a&o'ntry 5threatenin" other people% in&l'din" the !.S.% Western 8'rope and &o'ntriesin West Asia.5 #$ In my dealin"s -ith Wall Street as part o a Naval War Colle"epro>e&t on "loali3ation% I have spo)en -ith a n'mer o inan&ial e


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the Clinton administration ollo-in" Indian n'&lear -eapons tests in 1HHJ. ,et0s hopeit >'mp starts a ar roader men' o strate"i& &ooperation.

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India's 12 Steps to a World Class Navy