Mumbai, May 9
Submarines from the Chinese Navy operating out of an underground base in the South China Sea posed no threat to Indian interests, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Sureesh Mehta told reporters here at the end of the annual naval commanders’ conference today.
“When it is a nuclear submarine it does not matter if the base is 100 miles away or 200 miles,” Admiral Mehta said. According to reports, the Chinese nuclear submarine base is the closest such facility to India.
Admiral Mehta said the Chinese facility was part of that country’s strategy to extend its area of influence into the Indian Ocean.
“(Only) they did not have the assets till now,” Admiral Mehta said. According to him, the Indian Ocean was of strategic interest to the Chinese because of the volume of that country’s maritime trade in the region.
Admiral Mehta said the Navy would place an order with the Cochin
Shipyard for another aircraft carrier. Cochin Shipyard is already building an aircraft carrier for the Indian Navy which would be completed by 2012. According to the naval chief, the requirement of the Navy was for three aircraft carriers with two in operation and the third undergoing refits. A plan to roll out aircraft carriers at regular intervals had been mooted, he said.
India’s lone aircraft carrier INS Viraat is nearing the end of its life and its lifespan has been extended so that it is serviceable beyond 2012 when ‘Admiral Gorshkov’ (rechristened ‘INS Vikramaditya’) is inducted, Admiral Mehta said.
As part of measures to enhance the Navy’s sea denial capacity, six more Scorpene submarines are in the process of being ordered, Admiral Mehta said. The Mazgaon Docks at Mumbai is at present building six Scorpene submarines.
In addition, the Navy was acquiring the next generation Talwar-class ships.
The naval chief also stressed the need for more shipbuilding facilities in the country. At present, the Navy’s domestic shipbuilding requirements were being catered to by Mazagon Docks, Goa Shipyard, Cochin Shipyard and Garden Reach Shipbuilders.
Admiral Mehta welcomed efforts by private sector companies in this regard. He said the Navy would place orders with the shipyard to be built by Larsen and Toubro.
He added that software companies in the private sector like Satyam Technologies and Tata Consultancy Services had been roped in for building network-centric systems for the Navy.
