The US still wants India to act as a "lynchpin'' in its ongoing strategic "re-balancing'' of military forces towards the Asia-Pacific, or at least help cobble up multilateral naval engagements for greater stability in what it considers to be an increasingly critical region.
Visiting US Pacific Fleet commander Admiral Harry Harris, after meeting Navy chief Admiral Robin Dhowan and others on Tuesday, said China was indulging in "provocative" tactics in the South China Sea which were "raising tensions" in the entire region. "It's an issue of concern for all of us... It's a dramatic land reclamation. We don't view South China Sea as anybody's territorial waters... they are international waters," he said.
Slated to soon take over the reins of the massive US Pacific Command that covers 36 nations, Admiral Harris was, however, quick to add that the "re-balance" to Asia-Pacific, under which 60% of the formidable US naval fleet will be positioned in the Pacific by 2020, was not directed against China.
"It is not about China. It's really about us. It's about recognising that our economic future lies in the Pacific and Indian Oceans," he said, adding it was up to India to decide whether it wanted to show more "presence" in the South China Sea though he would "personally welcome" it.
But India does not want to get caught in the middle of this new 'Great Game' unfolding in Asia-Pacific, with China already irked by the US strategy to increasingly show the flag in the region. India, however, has stressed that all should respect "unhindered freedom of navigation in international waters" like South China Sea, where China is locked in territorial disputes with the Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia and others.
The US is also very keen on upgrading the annual Indo-US Malabar naval exercise into a multilateral venture, with regular participation from countries like Japan and Australia. "There is a role for each of our navies to play in building multinational maritime relationships in the Indo-Asia-Pacific," Admiral Harris said.
"An enhanced India-US partnership helps us to ensure other nations respect international law and drives our mutual commitment to open access by all nations to the shared global commons of sea, air, space and cyberspace," he added.
India has largely restricted the Malabar exercise to a bilateral one with the US after China protested against the 2007 edition of the war games in the Bay of Bengal since they were expanded to include the Australian, Japanese and Singaporean navies as well. But Japan did take part in the 2009 and 2014 editions, and is likely to do so this year as well.
