Indian Navy, wary of China, building up it’s Eastern Fleet
August 10, 2011The Indian Navy’s Eastern Command has nearly doubled it’s warship total from 30 in 2005 to 50 today. They are additionally planning to build new naval facilities along the east coast, and to re-assign the navy’s lone aircraft carrier to the East once they take receipt of their second carrier, purchased from Russia.
The Indian Navy has traditionally been focused on the Western Command, where their longtime rival Pakistan sits astride the vital sea lanes from the Persian Gulf and Europe. But the increased Chinese presence in South East Asia is forcing both an expansion of Indian naval assets and a fortification of the eastern approaches.
[...] Ed from the Asia Times that adds detail from our post yesterday. We focused on the dangers to India’s eastern coast from the ongoing creep of Chinese naval [...]