India has used the early parts of 2024 to showcase its role in an increasingly multipolar world, particularly its display of two aircraft carriers — the INS Vikramaditya and the INS Vikrant — last week.
The Indian English-language news channel WIO News published reports last week about a demonstration of both aircraft carriers working side by side, Knewz.com has learned.
WIO reporter tweeted a series of visuals featuring the ships sailing through the ocean, airplanes taking off its deck, and his own reporting from the landing deck.
The INS Vikramaditya is a modified Kiev-class carrier that was first decommissioned in 1996 before India bought it for $2.35 billion in 2004. It was officially inducted into the Navy in 2014.
The INS Vikrant is India’s first domestically built aircraft carrier, and its name is a tribute to the first ever Indian carrier, which was bought in 1961 and went by the same name. “Vikrant” means courage in Sanskrit.
The display of the aircraft carriers comes as India has played an active role in attempts to divert attacks by Houthi militants in the Red Sea.
It played a crucial role last week in rescuing crewmembers on board a cargo ship that the Houthis struck with an anti-ship ballistic missile. That attack killed three people, the first deaths from the attacks over the past five months.
In a press statement, India’s president, Droupadi Murmu — who plays a largely symbolic role — said, “With India emerging as a global power, the need for supporting the Indian Navy through efficient logistic management using the most advanced technology cannot be overemphasized. Both these services are vital for the smooth functioning of the Indian Navy, especially during these times of geopolitical churning.”
According to Newsweek, China’s People’s Liberation Army called the rescue missions “publicity stunts” in an opinion article.
“After the clashes between Houthi militants and the US-UK coalition in the Red Sea, India promptly announced the dispatch of five Indian-version Aegis destroyers to escort ships in the Red Sea and surrounding waters,” the Chinese military authors wrote.
On Monday, India successfully tested a nuclear-capable missile capable of carrying multiple warheads. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was “proud” of the scientists who developed India’s first domestically built Agni-5.
Tensions between India and China over the past half-decade have pushed New Dehli to embrace closer ties with the U.S. Traditionally, India has pursued a geopolitical strategy of non-allegiance, most notably being its ability to maintain a close relationship with the Soviet Union and Russia along with friendly American ties.
However, New Delhi has been constantly squabbling with Beijing for years, such as sharp rhetoric this week amid Narendra Modi’s planned visit to Arunachal Pradesh, which both countries claim as their territory.
Tensions reached a boiling point after troops clashed at around 10,000 ft. above sea level at their border in Ladakh. That battle killed 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers.
On Monday, India Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said, “This tension that we have seen for the last four years has not served either of us well.”
He added that de-escalating the tensions would be best for both countries, a project that experts say has largely failed.
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Author: Kevin McSpadden
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