Referring to the Chinese deployment of submarines for anti-piracy patrols in the Gulf of Aden, the Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral Sunil Lanba, on Friday said it was an “odd task” for a submarine to perform.
“People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) said they [submarines] are being deployed in the Indian Ocean for anti-piracy patrols. It is rather an odd task to give to a submarine... It is not the most ideal platform to do anti-piracy patrols,” he said in response to questions at the annual press conference ahead of Navy Day.
China has actively deployed ships and submarines in the Indian Ocean in the name of anti-piracy measures and the frequency has steadily gone up. Several U.S. military officers too have expressed similar views in the past. On this note, Admiral Lanba said the Navy had “carried out threat assessment of PLAN submarines.”
In a related development, India and Singapore are in the process of discussing the modalities of the overarching naval cooperation agreement signed in presence of the two Defence Ministers earlier this week.
This gives India access to the Changi naval base near the Strait of Malacca as a basing area. “Our staff will work out an implementation agreement on the bilateral agreement which has been signed. We will have temporary facilities for basing of ships, submarines and aircraft to operate,” Admiral Lanba said.
Conventional carrier
After much deliberation, the Indian Navy has decided to go ahead with a conventionally powered reactor instead of a nuclear-powered one for its second Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC-II).
“We have analysed it and fixed the form and fit of the carrier. It is going to be about 65,000 tonnes a through-deck carrier with Catapult Assisted Take-Off But Arrested Recovery (CATOBAR). It is going to be conventionally powered and we are going through the process of taking it to the Ministry for acquisition,” Admiral Lanba said.
Acknowledging that INS Chakra , the nuclear attack submarine from Russia, suffered damage to its sonar dome where two panels have been dislodged, he said, “We have already ordered the panels. Hopefully it should be up and about sooner than later.”
