The UK announced on Wednesday it will deploy a littoral response group, a specialised formation for amphibious warfare, in the Indian Ocean in 2024 and its carrier strike group in 2025 to train and operate with Indian forces.
Britain To Deploy Warships To Indian Ocean For Joint Training Exercise
Britain said it would send warships to the Indian Ocean later this year and an aircraft carrier to the region in 2025 for joint training and operations with Indian forces as the two countries strengthen their security ties.
British Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said the Royal Navy’s Littoral Response Group would visit the Indian Ocean region this year and its Carrier Strike Group the next.
“There is absolutely no question that the world is becoming increasingly contested, so it’s vital that we continue to build on our strategic relationships with key partners like India,” Shapps said in a statement as his Indian counterpart Rajnath Singh visited Britain. “Together we share the same security challenges and are steadfast on our commitment to maintaining a free and prosperous Indo-Pacific.”
Britain and India will also conduct more complex joint military exercises in the coming years, in support of their shared goal of protecting trade routes and ensuring maritime security, the British Ministry of Defence said. The LRG is a Royal Navy task group consisting of at least two amphibious warfare ships, and the CRG is the aircraft carrier battle group of the Royal Navy. The CRG’s inaugural deployment was back in 2021 in the Indo-Pacific, where it conducted joint exercises with the Indian forces.
UK and India will also embark on more complex exercises between their respective militaries, building up to a landmark joint exercise to be conducted before the end of 2030, supporting shared goals of protecting critical trade routes and upholding the international rules-based system, the MoD said.
The announcement coincided with defence minister Rajnath Singh’s visit to Britain, during which the two sides signed two agreements on a cadet exchange programme and collaboration between India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the UK’s Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL). This is the first visit to the UK by an Indian defence minister in 22 years.
Indian Ocean
The IOR is a vital maritime area spanning over 36 littoral and island countries. The region is strategically important due to its significant trade routes, natural resources, and geopolitical importance. It is home to some of the world’s busiest sea-lanes, including the Straits of Hormuz and Malacca, which serve as a conduit for international trade. The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world’s five oceanic divisions, covering 70,560,000 km² or ~20% of the water on Earth’s surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east.
Economic and Commercial Relations
•Total trade in goods and services (exports plus imports) between the UK and India was USD 32.7 billion during the period from April 2021 to March 2022.
•Total exports from India to UK amounted USD 21.5 billion while imports from UK to India amounted USD 10.2 billion.
•India has a trade surplus relationship with the UK.
•The UK is the 7th largest export destination for India.
•India is also the 2nd largest source of FDI for the UK.
Indian Diaspora in the UK
•Indians make up around 2.86% of the United Kingdom’s population.
•As per the UK Census 2021, Total Indian Population in the United Kingdom is around 19 Lakh or 1.9 million.
•The UK is the largest source of European remittances to India.
India UK Defence Exercise
•Ajeya Warrior
•Konkan
•Indradhanush
