Major Nirvikar Singh: The Impact of India’s Defense on Emerging Alliances

1. Search Write Sign in Sign up Major Nirvikar Singh: The Impact of India’s Defense on Emerging Alliances Advocate Nirvikar Singh · Follow 5 min read · Sep 10, 2024 -- India Defense Alliances India’s defence diplomacy has become an increasingly critical part of its foreign policy, particularly in a region as strategically crucial and complex as South Asia. As India continues to grow not only in economic power but also in military capability, its efforts at building and maintaining regional alliances are crucial in enhancing its influence and assuring regional stability. This blog reviews the consequences of Indian defence diplomacy on emerging regional alliances and underlines how strategic partnerships, defence collaborations, and multilateral engagements have characterised its approach. 1. The Strategic Relevance of Defence Diplomacy Free Membership India’s defence diplomacy is, therefore, part of its general regional strategic objectives. Being geographically surrounded by several nations characterised by varying levels of political and economic stability, it stands to reason that this calls for proactive efforts to build alliances. The engagement in defence diplomacy, in this regard, stabilises the region, strengthening India’s security. Sign up to discover human stories that deepen your understanding of the world. Distraction-free reading. No ads. Read member-only stories Organize your knowledge with lists and highlights. Support writers you read most Earn money for your writing Tell your story. Find your audience. Listen to audio narrations Read offline with the Medium app Defence diplomacy empowers India to project power, reassure allies, and deter adversaries. The concept is quite relevant in South Asia, where the balance of power is dynamically changing. Military exercises, defence trade, and strategic dialogues with neighbours are very important in instilling Sign up for free Try for $5/month

2. mutual trust and understanding. What’s more, such efforts impede rival powers, like an increasingly assertive China, from gaining centre stage in the region. 2. Bilateral and Multilateral Defence Relations Strengthening The major influence that India’s defence diplomacy has is in the strengthening of bilateral and multilateral defence relations with regional countries. A strong military-to-military relationship has been established in several countries, including Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, and the Maldives. The relationships are nurtured through regular military exchanges, joint exercises, and defence training programs. Joint military exercises, such as the “Sampriti” series between India and Bangladesh, are useful in promoting interoperability and trust between the armed forces of both countries. Likewise, its naval exercises with Sri Lanka and the Maldives have become quite crucial in the context of maritime security in the IOR. On the multilateral side, India’s defence diplomacy has been significantly augmented with its active involvement in regional multilateral organisations such as BIMSTEC and IORA. It also enables India to engage in regional security questions with several countries for collective security and regional integration. 3. Checking China’s Influence Through Regional Alliances Most significant of all, however, has been India’s reaction to an increasingly influential China in South Asia and the Indian Ocean. The Chinese BRI and its increased military presence in this region have raised eyebrows in New Delhi. India has responded by increasing its defence interactions with regional states in a balancing act against the perceived influence of China. Of these moves, the fortification of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue — India, the United States, Japan, and Australia — is perhaps one of the most striking. The Quad reflects a strategic alignment to guarantee a free, open, and inclusive Indo-Pacific region against the growing audacity of China. India’s active participation in the Quad, coupled with its defence partnerships with Japan and Australia, underlines the commitment to maintaining a balance of power in the region. Second, the defence relationship of India with the countries of Southeast Asia, especially via the ADMM-Plus, hedges against the emerging influence of China. Engagement by India with the ASEAN countries on defence and security issues helps reinforce its role as a key contributor to regional security architecture in promoting a rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific. Free Membership Distraction-free reading. No ads. Read member-only stories 4. Indian Ocean: Strengthening Maritime Security Organize your knowledge with lists and highlights. Support writers you read most Earn money for your writing Given the strategic importance of the Indian Ocean, maritime security remains one of the critical components of India’s defence diplomacy. Such a drive to strengthen maritime security is a function of the imperative of securing vital sea lanes of communication, ensuring the safety of India’s maritime borders, and countering the threat of piracy and terrorism. Tell your story. Find your audience. Sign up to discover human stories that deepen your understanding of the world. Listen to audio narrations Read offline with the Medium app

3. Its leadership in regional maritime initiatives is what defines India’s defence diplomacy in the Indian Ocean. The Indian Navy is at the centre of these efforts through joint exercises, patrols, and capacity-building programs with regional navies. The Indian Ocean Naval Symposium and the Milan naval exercise are critical platforms that allow for the fostering of maritime cooperation and trust among the littoral states of the Indian Ocean. 5. Promotion of Defence Industry Cooperation India’s defence diplomacy also involves the promotion of defence industry collaboration with regional countries. In its “Make in India” campaign, India pursues a first-order defence manufacturing capability with reduced import dependence. In line with this direction, India signed defence cooperation agreements with several regional countries on joint production, technology transfer, and capacity building. Take, for example, India’s cooperation with Vietnam in the realm of defence industries; this can easily be cited as part of its defence industry diplomacy, particularly in naval vessel and missile system construction. Such current defence collaborations between India and Southeast Asia, specifically Indonesia and Malaysia, are instances of licensed production through joint ventures and technology sharing, thus helping the regional defence industry to develop. Challenges and the Way Forward However, challenges remain as India’s defence diplomacy has aided in influencing some positive impacts on the emerging regional alliances. The geopolitical environment of South Asia, based on enduring rivalries complemented and supplanted by shifting alliances, leads to significant complexities for India’s defence diplomacy. Moreover, the increased presence of external powers, including China and the United States, adds another layer of complexity to India’s regional strategy. The surmounting of this challenge would require subtle and nimble defence diplomacy. This includes a carefully nuanced balancing of relations with major powers while pursuing strategic autonomy, strengthening civil- military coordination for defence diplomacy to support the broader range of foreign policy objectives, and further trust-building with regional partners through clear and predictable engagement. Wrapping Up! Also, India’s defence diplomacy has been the key factor in developing emerging regional alliances, expanding its influence, and engendering regional stability. Strengthening bilateral and multilateral defence linkages, countering the rising influence of China, maintaining maritime security, and fostering defence industry cooperation have created a vortex in South Asia and the Indo-Pacific. As Major Nirvikar Singh has pointed out, the success of India’s defence diplomacy will be achieved by its art of manoeuvring through the complex regional landscape, sustaining strategic continuity, and adapting to the changing play of geopolitics. Free Membership Distraction-free reading. No ads. Read member-only stories Organize your knowledge with lists and highlights. Support writers you read most Earn money for your writing Tell your story. Find your audience. Sign up to discover human stories that deepen your understanding of the world. Listen to audio narrations Read offline with the Medium app Advocate Nirvikar Singh Major Nirvikar Singh Adc Nirvikar Singh Cbi Nirvikar Singh

4. -- Written by Advocate Nirvikar Singh Follow 2 Followers Advocate Major Nirvikar Singh is a distinguished professional known for his expertise in both law and military service. As Advocate Nirvikar Singh. Help Status About Careers Press Blog Privacy Terms Text to speech Teams Free Membership Distraction-free reading. No ads. Read member-only stories Organize your knowledge with lists and highlights. Support writers you read most Earn money for your writing Tell your story. Find your audience. Sign up to discover human stories that deepen your understanding of the world. Listen to audio narrations Read offline with the Medium app