Navy Chief Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi on Monday said here Indian Navy is aware of “surprising growth” of the Pakistan Navy, that aims to become a 50-ship Navy in the next decade with the help of China. He also said Pakistan has chosen weapons over the welfare of its people.
Making this assertion here, the Naval Chief said given the state of its economy, Pakistan is strengthening its Navy. “They have chosen weapons over the welfare of their people,” he said and quipped “good luck to them.” “We are aware of the surprising growth of the Pakistan Navy which aims to become a 50-ship Navy,” he said.
On China helping Pakistan boost its maritime prowess, the Navy Chief said it showed Beijing’s interest in making that country militarily stronger.
“Many Pakistan Navy warships and submarines are being built with Chinese support showing that China is interested in making Pakistan’s Navy stronger,” he said. “Their eight new submarines will have significant combat potential for the Pakistan Navy but we are fully aware of their capabilities. That is why we are tweaking our concepts to be able to tackle all threats from our neighbours,” Admiral Tripathi added.
On China’s growing prowess, he said it has declared to have its rightful place and has resources to strive to become a world power. Once it does so, friction takes place with existing world powers and it is already being played out, the Navy Chief said, adding it will manifest in the Pacific region. As regards the Indian Ocean region, he said the Indian Navy is keeping a close watch.
Making these assertions in an annual conference ahead of Navy Day on December four, Admiral Tripathi said activities of the navies of China and Pakistan are being closely monitored.
He said a Chinese submarine visited Karachi last year and returned and India had tracked it. Moreover, the Indian Navy is well aware of all activities of Chinese warships and research vessels in the strategically important Indian Ocean Region(IOR).
“We are keeping a watch on extra-regional forces, including the PLA Navy, their warships and their research vessels, and know what they are doing and where they are,” Admiral Tripathi said.
Elaborating upon the ongoing modernisation, he said India is expected to seal separate contracts for the procurement of 26 naval variant Rafale fighter jets and three additional Scorpene submarines next month.
At a media briefing ahead of Navy Day on December 4, Admiral Tripathi also said the government has accorded approval for building two SSNs (nuclear-powered submarines) and that the plan is to have a total of six such boats. The Navy Chief said the first SSN should be ready by 2036-37 and the second one in 2038-39.
“Rafale Marine is at an advanced stage of negotiations and it is only one level short of taking it to the Cabinet Committee on Security. Since it is a government-to-government deal, it should not take much time,” he said.
In July last year, the defence ministry approved the purchase of the Rafale-M jets from France, primarily for deployment on board the indigenously built aircraft carrier INS Vikrant. “We expect that if not this month, then next month hopefully, both these (Scorpene submarine) and Rafale-M (project) should be signed,” he said.
The Navy Chief also said 62 ships and one submarine are currently under construction within the country as part of efforts to boost its naval power.
On the modernisation of the Indian Navy, Admiral Tripathi said a large number of platforms are waiting for induction in the next one year and at least one ship will be inducted into the Navy. “We have redoubled efforts to include niche technologies into the force,” he added. The Indian Navy hopes to induct nearly 96 warships and submarines in the next ten years, the Navy Chief said.
