Six Nation Asian maritime security exercises exclude China

This week sees the conclusion of two South Asian tours conducted by ships from the Indian navy which jointly took in 5 key Asian cities as part of security and cooperation exercises between six regional navies.

As part of a training and good will voyage, vessels from the Indian naval took in Ho Chi Minh City, Jakarta, Manila, Pusan and Tokyo and conducted joint passage drills as part of a period of exercises designed to cement regional defense ties between countries with interests in the South China Sea.

The joint maritime exercises, which began in tandem with the good will voyages last month, have been scheduled to last for 45 days, and to cover issues of interoperability, security cooperation and joint training.

The joint exercise between the navies of India, Indonesia, Japan, the Philippines, South Korea and Vietnam were however notable because of China’s absence, both from the good will tour and the exercises, which have been timed to loosely coincide with a joint Sino-Australian naval exercise in the South China Sea, and to follow drills the were held between China and the British Royal Navy earlier this year.

Despite common maritime security interests, and a shared desire to secure the South China Sea from terrorism or regional instability, there has been surprisingly little close naval cooperation between some of the most prominent Asian nations to protect shipping lanes or to promote naval ties in the South China Sea, which is seen as a trade route of global strategic important because it contains a number of key sea lanes used to transport fuel, raw materials, and commercial traffic throughout Asia and beyond.

Wartime animosity from Chinese leaders towards Japan has served to stifle any significant security cooperation between the two countries, and concerns over US intentions towards Chinese Taiwan have clouded relations further during US-Japanese/US-Korean naval security exercises in the area, which Chinese spokespersons have largely denounced as being shows of force directed towards Beijing over the issue of Chinese Taiwan.

Despite recent cooperation with Britain, a former colonial power that is largely seen as being neutral in south Asia, and Australia, a county with a strong interest in maintaining regional security, China has so far favoured a go it alone approach to security, preferring to it manages its naval affairs alone or to be the dominating partner in any security agreement.

China also currently has an ongoing confrontation with Vietnam over fishing rights and maritime borders, despite the recent signing of a treaty between the two countries over disputed waters

As well as presenting a joint front against terrorism and instability, the six national cooperative exercises have also seen the showcasing of an Indian built missile frigate and corvette, seen by participating navies as possible alternatives to US and European built warships, and as coming without many of the technological or ideological strings attached by these two blocks to arms sales.

Controversially, alongside the deployment of two Indian built vessels, the joint exercise has been seen as an opportunity by India to promote itself as a provider of training in a number of security areas, including defense against submarine and missile activity, both of which are areas in which China is currently the most active player in the region.

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