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Abhijit Singh
Abhijit Singh
Abhijit Singh is a senior fellow and head of maritime policy at the Observer Research Foundation in New Delhi.

In countering India’s efforts to dominate South Asian waters, China may be seeking a grand bargain: allow each side control over their respective littorals – the Bay of Bengal and the South China Sea – and the maintenance of respective constabulary presences.

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India’s back-to-back moves to boost relations with Japan and Russia, particularly in security matters, appear to indicate it wants a bigger naval role in the contested South China Sea to counter a rising China. The reality is far different.

As China and the US pursue development of unmanned underwater drones, the Indian navy is also adjusting its strategy to include autonomous vehicles in its armoury against China’s growing undersea footprint in the Indian Ocean.

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