India's launch of its first domestically built aircraft carrier marks a stepping stone to the country's projection of itself as a maritime power that seeks to counter the rising dominance of China, according to dpa. The 37,500-ton INS Vikrant, India's largest warship, is seen as a success of the navy's "indigenization programme" that involves the construction of 46 of 47 warships and submarines that the country needs in the long-term. With Monday's launch, India edged out China to join an elite group of countries that can design and build their own aircraft carriers, including the United States, Britain, France and Russia. Analysts say the Vikrant highlights not only India's ability to build complex naval platforms but also its ambitions to have a blue-water navy, one that is capable of projecting its power across the oceans in defence of the country's interests. "It is significant that India has been able to reach this perch despite various constraints. It marks a major achievement as the country did not know its way about it," said strategic expert Uday Bhaskar. "Building a warship is a pretty big deal." The Vikrant is slated to enter full service in 2018 after fitting out and extensive trials. Eventually, the Indian Navy plans to have three aircraft carriers, one each for both coasts and one in reserve. A refurbished Russian aircraft carrier, Admiral Gorshkov, renamed INS Vikramaditya, is expected to enter service by early next year. Construction of the second indigenous aircraft carrier, INS Vishal, is to begin later. The Indian Navy, the fifth largest in the world, has lined up several projects in an aggressive modernization drive. Construction of six multi-role frigates has been approved and the first from the project will be commissioned into the navy next year, navy officials said. Meanwhile, India's biggest-ever indigenous defence contract to build seven frigates worth 8 billion dollars is in the pipeline and government clearance is awaited. Approvals have also been given to projects for 12 submarines and deliveries will begin from 2015. But a major concern is that several of the navy's major warship and submarine projects are dogged by massive delays resulting in cost rises. The dates the ships will enter service have been pushed back by several years, affecting the navy's ambitions. "We have lost much time in the past because of various reasons: Hereafter let us keep to the timelines," Defence Minister AK Antony said to officials at the launch at the Cochin shipyard. Over the past decade, India has undertaken a major military upgrade programme, mainly because of concerns over rapid defence expansion by neighbouring China, with which it went to war in 1962. "The modernization of the Chinese Navy is truly impressive," navy chief Admiral DK Joshi said recently. "It is actually a major, major cause of concern for us, which we continuously evaluate and work out our options and our strategies." But China's military budget at 106 billion dollars for 2012 is nearly three times that of its South Asian rival. India's naval strength is also far weaker because defence planners give the navy lowest allocations among the three services. Bhaskar said that the navy plays a "qualitatively very important role," given the evolving strategic environment. The navy is also tasked with securing trade routes and lines of communication, fighting piracy and helping in disasters such as tsunamis. "The navy has acquired regional relevance in the domain and is playing a prominent role," he said. With growing naval competition predicted between the Asian giants in the Indian Ocean, the Bay of Bengal and the South China Sea, India seems increasingly aligned into the United States' new strategic plans for the Asia-Pacific to curb Beijing's influence. "Indian policymakers should seriously consider the expansion of the Chinese Navy. It is obvious that China is preparing to place its navy permanently in the Indian Ocean," Bhaskar Roy of the South Asian Analysis think-tank wrote in a recent paper. "There are talks that the Chinese Navy is discussing a possible base in the Seychelles. Pakistan would invite them to set up a base anywhere on its coast. Chinese plans to encircle India through the Indian Ocean littoral countries are just beginning to take place." Indian defence experts say that India along with other allies could balance out China in Asia. Raja Mohan of the Observer Research Foundation recently said that as China and India's maritime footprints overlapped, friction was inevitable but the US entry in the Asia-Pacific security theatre unsettled power equations. "You don't have to be symmetric to contest with each other," Mohan said, referring to the rivalry between India and China.
