Former Naval commanders, diplomats, maritime experts, and policymakers advocate the effectuation of the Underwater Domain Awareness (UDA) for the PM Modi’s SAGAR vision
@Kunal_Chonkar
New Delhi: A few weeks back China carved a door into India’s backyard – Indian Ocean Region (IOR) – as it successfully secured an approval to develop a deep-sea port in Myanmar’s Rakhine province. With consolidated strategic holds in both Sri Lankan and Maldivian ports, reports are now also surfacing on Beijing aiding Bangladesh to construct a state-of-an-art naval base in the Cox Bazar region. The aggressive ruddering of the PLA into the IOR since 2008, in attempts to stalemate India in its own waters present an overriding and abiding ultimatum for the realization of New Delhi’s Indian Ocean policy under the Prime Minister Narendra Modi acronym – SAGAR (Security and Growth for all in the Region).
With India required to tie different, new approach strands into a coherent strategy to consolidate its leadership role the IOR – former Naval commanders, diplomats, maritime experts, and policymakers speaking at a webinar organized by the Maritime Research Centre (MRC) and Centre for Advanced Strategic Studies (CASS), advocated the effectuation of the Underwater Domain Awareness (UDA) for the successful implementation of the SAGAR vision.
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In his opening remark, Founder and Director of MRC, Dr (Cdr) Arnab Das said that armed with cold war-era technology India cannot fortify its footprint in the IOR. While raising questions on India being able to identify its role in the Indo-Pacific strategy, Dr. Das also expressed concerns about whether New Delhi has the capacity and capability building in playing the required role.
“India’s military maritime strategy has remained a security-driven initiative. There has not been much participation from other stakeholders. The Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) became an important component in India, post the 26/11 terror attacks, however not much progress been made there as well. India needs to have a comprehensive approach to its maritime security strategy involving other stakeholders,” Dr. Das said.
Highlighting the 60 to 70 percent degradation of sonar performance in the IOR waters, requiring the deployment of additional assets, the former naval commander claimed that an increase in the UDA will not only double the performance but also reduce asset deployment by half. “Having denied this (UDA) to our adversary, India can easily raise its strategic advantage by four times. New Delhi must increase the UDA application to gain a strategic advantage over our adversaries,” Dr. Das said, suggesting a four-point plan to realize the UDA in the SAGAR vision.
According to Dr. Das – the government must appoint a senior study group of experts to examine the ‘Indo’ part of the Indo-Pacific, underwater dimensions and the SAGAR vision need to be linked, New Delhi could use the UDA framework as an agenda and a diplomatic tool at marine forums like the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) and the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC).
Echoing with the suggestions made by Dr. Das, former Ambassador and the Chairman of Research and Information System for Developing Countries, Dr. Mohan Kumar said that India is yet to exploit all its resources when it came to the MDA. Citing a dearth of economic research in the UDA, Dr. Kumar presented the case of India failing to develop a program to extract the polymetallic nodules present underwater. “Metals like Magnesium, Cobalt, and even rare earth can be easily recovered from our own waters (EEZ). However, not much has been done to map these resources,” Dr. Kumar said. He also criticized New Delhi for expecting regional forums like IORA, Indian Ocean Commission, Indian Ocean Naval Symposium to defend the maritime security, or to maintain sea lanes of communication.
While pointing out that India does not have the stand-alone potential to check and counter the dragon’s swim in the IOR, Dr. Kumar in an out-of-box suggestion – pitched for the inclusion of France in the Quad strategy. He suggested the formation of a Quad – plus France forum titled as ‘Five Whales approach’ to start the collection and sharing of underwater information and intelligence.
“The PLA is ever increasing its presence and strength in the IOR. Thus, SAGAR must be an intrinsically underwater domain. The SAGAR vision without UDA is senseless,” Dr. Kumar outlined, while also adding that New Delhi should file pre-emptive applications towards International seabed authority to explore underwater high seas in the IOR.
Drawing a picture from the post-cold war era, veteran vice-admiral AR Karve briefed on the rapid rise and expansion of the PLA Navy. He emphasized on Beijing’s renewed interest in the UDA through its development and deployment of a strategic submarine fleet in the littoral waters of the subcontinent.
“In order to check its (China) growing influence in the IOR, India must re-tool its foreign policy. New Delhi must understand that managing this area of Chinese influence is not simply a function of telling others what to do, but spend resources that deny space to China,” Karve said while proposing the design of the SAGAR vision projects in the IOR rim nations to deny Chinese advances in the tropical waters.
While admitting that the UDA is a chink in India’s maritime defense armor, Karve propounded South Block to procure and secure advanced technologies, not available indigenously, through strategic cooperation and collaboration with friendly nations. “India’s MDA for the surface is robust but the below-water domain is not monitored. The UDA is a must for national security and the next logical step that must be pursued to complete the missing piece in the MDA. The concept and acceptance of UDA as a necessity must be approved by NSA as a national strategic project,” Karve voiced.
In his pre-recorded talk presented at the webinar, Member of the National Security Advisory Group, Dr. Bimal Patel underscored the role of academia and industries in the UDA. Speaking on the security aspect of the UDA, Dr. Patel marked the need to study submerged explosive devices (sea-mines) and the collection of topical knowledge on UAVs and Unmanned Underwater Combat Vehicles.
“The UDA is important in detecting and tracking underwater intruders in harbors to provide an element of protection for ships, sensitive installations, and military bases. Increasing the operations state of AUVs is necessary to fully explore their potentials. In absence of clear rules and ideal perception capabilities one way to prevent a collision is to use acoustic communications,” Dr. Patel said.
He added that the technological impact of the new combat system adapted to the submarine environment, mobile equipped with active sensors in the field of AUVs has changed the status quo of underwater combat. Creating major vulnerabilities on the infallibility of the secret actions of a submarine.
In his quick talk at the session, maritime polymath and former vice admiral KN Sushil said that the country is not structurally equipped to deal with technology. “India keeps defining what it requires as a piece-meal system. We lack an ongoing/constant process,” Sushil said while suggesting a clearly-defined academia-navy-industrial setup and a strong business model to promote the UDA in the country.
Taiwanese professor Dr. Roger Liu in the closing minutes of the two-hour-long session upheld that India must be bolder in expanding its influence in the East Asia region in the face of geopolitical challenges thrown by China. “Many things India and Taiwan can do together in the south China sea. Both nations can conduct research in hydrology, fisheries, on the lines similar to what Sri Lanka and China have been doing in the IOR. India could do the same in those waters with nations like Taiwan, not in a way which would stimulate China harshly,” Dr. Roger said. He concluded by saying, being bold will earn in India not only in foreign policy but will also increase scope in natural sciences as well.
