30.11.17

India and Singapore ink naval pact

India and Singapore inked a naval pact to significantly crank up their maritime security cooperation with access to each other’s bases, while reiterating the need for all to respect freedom of navigation and trade in international waters in the backdrop of China’s aggressive and expansionist behavior in the Asia Pacific region.

The naval cooperation agreement to bolster maritime security, joint exercises, “temporary deployments from each other’s naval facilities” and mutual logistics support was inked after delegation-level talks between defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman and her Singaporean counterpart Dr Ng Eng Hen in the morning.

Easy access to the Singapore port, with refueling and berthing facilities, will serve to enhance the operational reach of Indian warships and aircraft east of the Malacca Strait, which is a critical choke point for China’s ever expanding energy supplies. It fits into India’s overall “Act East” policy to deepen military ties with ASEAN countries like Singapore, Vietnam, Myanmar, Malaysia and Indonesia as a counter to China.

India, in turn, will provide naval practice and logistics facilities to Singapore, which will include live firing drills in the Andaman Sea, to add to similar services already being provided to the army and air force of the city-state for the last 10 years. Appreciating India’s “leading role” in the Indian Ocean Region, Dr Ng said Singapore would “encourage” more Indian warships to come to its shores, help in further securing the sea lanes of communication towards the Andaman Sea and the Strait of Malacca, expand and institutionalise maritime exercises with like-minded regional and ASEAN partners.

“We want to see more participation, cooperation and activity in both the Strait of Malacca and the Andaman Sea,” said Dr Ng.

Sitharaman said the two countries had decided to expand overall defence ties and were “strongly committed” to boosting cooperation in tackling transnational security threats, especially terrorism.

The two countries also decided to renew the bilateral army pact, under which facilities are provided to Singapore for exercises of mechanised forces at Babina and artillery at Deolali ranges, when it ends next year.

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