The border dispute between India and China along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in June 2020 has raised fears of a military clash between the world’s two largest economies. In this section, we compare the naval forces of various countries.
The Indian Navy is an important part of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The navy is led by a four-star admiral, the Chief of Naval Staff. The navy’s primary mission is to protect the nation’s maritime frontiers and to deter or defeat any threats or aggression against India’s territory, people, or naval interests, both in war and peace. The Indian Navy fosters bilateral relations with other countries through cooperative exercises, goodwill visits, and humanitarian missions such as disaster relief.
The Chinese PLAN
The People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) is the People’s Liberation Army’s maritime service arm. It is also known as the People’s Navy, Chinese Navy, or PLA Navy.
The PLAN was founded on April 23, 1949, by naval units fighting during the Chinese Civil War. Throughout the 1950s and early 1960s, the Soviet Union provided naval advisers and exported equipment and technology to the PLAN. The Navy of the People’s Liberation Army is divided into five branches: Submarine Force, Surface Force, Coastal Defense Force, Marine Corps, and Naval Air Force.
It has the most major surface combatants of any navy in the world, with an overall battle force of approximately 350 surface ships and submarines — comparable to the battle force of the United States Navy. It has the world’s second-largest navy in terms of tonnage, with 1,820,222 tonnes as of 2019, trailing only the United States Navy.
Indian Navy vs Chinese Navy
The Indo-Pacific region is becoming a geostrategic focus point for both China and India as they compete more aggressively. While China has sought access to strategic ports in order to gain an economic and strategic advantage, India’s role in the region is increasingly viewed as a defender of the region’s international order, particularly in terms of maintaining open sea lanes and freedom of navigation. In terms of the total number of warships, China’s fleet dwarfs India’s, but India has recently posed a significant threat to China’s capital, Beijing.
The US Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Mike Gilday, has stated that India will be a critical ally for America in the future, playing a significant role in opposing China. This remark comes at a time when US strategists and a Japanese newspaper are arguing that border disputes between India and China in the Himalayas pose a two-front challenge to Beijing.
China Navy vs Indian Navy: Their Consistent Growth
China produces the most ships per tonne on the planet and is nearly self-sufficient in shipbuilding. When a photo of five new Type 052D guided-missile destroyers being built at the Dalian shipyard in Northern China, one of two critical facilities for building large surface combatants, surfaced on social media, it highlighted this capacity, which is being bolstered by shipyard expansions.
In the last 17 years, the China Navy’s fleet has grown by 132 warships, making it the world’s largest by number. Approximately 65% of this increase was attributed to an increase in missile-armed quick patrol craft and corvettes. According to sources, China built more warships than India, Japan, Australia, France, and the United Kingdom combined between 2017 and 2019. According to a Pentagon press release, the 2021 China Military Power assessment revealed that China had a total battle force of approximately 355 ships and submarines.
The Chinese navy is growing faster than any other significant navy and modernizing at the same time. There may be challenges ahead, such as China’s aging population and rising maintenance costs for what has already been built, but growth is expected.
With all of PLAN’s achievements and advancements. Without a doubt, the Indian Navy has grown organically over the last fifteen to twenty years. The Indian Navy currently has two aircraft carriers, INS Vikramaditya and INS Vikrant, and plans to build a third, INS Vishaal, by 2030-2032 if necessary approvals are obtained.
Seagoing airpower, destroyer and frigate units, and submarines have been the primary areas of Indian Naval expansion.
Indian shipyards thrive in this industry because they can construct and launch multiple vessels at the same time and on a regular basis.
The Indian Navy believes that by accelerating submarine projects, improving mine-countermeasures capability, and reshaping its carrier force and air wing, it will be able to operate more effectively with the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, Republic of Korea Navy, and Royal Australian Navy while remaining competitive with China.
Mr. Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister of India, commissioned the Indian Navy Ship Vikrant in September 2022. As a result, India has joined China in the ranks of the world’s most powerful warships. This commission will allow the Indian Navy to design and build its own aircraft carrier.
Does India’s Navy Have a Chance Against China’s? A Speculative Situation
According to a press release from CNBC-TV18.com, Captain Kamlesh Agnihotri (Retd.), a senior fellow at the National Maritime Foundation (NMF), replied that “our robust carrier-based force would be able to meet the challenges.”
But according to Lieutenant Colonel JS Sodhi, a specialist in defence and strategic affairs, “China has an advantage even if India is gradually becoming a significant naval power.” According to Sodhi, “we have accelerated domestic defence manufacturing, and they are gradually catching up.”
Due to its recent foundation and organic growth, the Indian Navy has caught the attention of the Chinese and now poses a serious threat to Beijing. The United States will back the Indians while they keep up with them in a conflict if one occurs between the two navies, according to Admiral Mike Gilday, Chief of Naval Operations of the United States.
Reportedly, China has extended its presence not only along India’s land boundaries but also in the marine realm by utilizing anti-piracy operations to normalize its naval presence in the Indian Ocean region, according to Indian Navy Chief Admiral R Hari Kumar (IOR).
The Navy Chief stated, “Our capabilities plans and developments that we are considering are based upon our requirements to safeguard, preserve, and advance our national interests.
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