A former Indian Navy commander has said India had “no business” getting involved in disputes in the South China Sea, but stressed the need for it to boost its defences in case of a conflict in Asia.
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Shekhar Sinha, a retired vice-admiral, said that even as China grew more “aggressive” towards smaller claimant states of the contested waterway, India did not have much of a role to play.
“India has got economic interests in the South China Sea. If its economic interests are being hurt, our navy will go,” he said on the sidelines of the Xiangshan Forum in Beijing on Wednesday. “Otherwise, no. India has no business.”
Even so, Sinha, who was formerly commander-in-chief of India’s Western Naval Command, called out China’s actions in the South China Sea, saying “when a country is big and powerful, we believe that they should be a little more magnanimous to [countries] that are smaller”.
“If you start sending coastguard ships and hitting the supply ship of another country, that’s not the way,” he said in a reference to past clashes between Chinese and Philippine vessels, when asked about growing global concerns over China’s military activities in the area.
Tensions in the South China Sea have escalated in recent years particularly between Beijing and Manila, with frequent confrontations and exchanges of accusations. The Philippines is among several members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations whose claims in the South China Sea overlap with those of Beijing.
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In the latest clash, China’s coastguard this week said a Philippine ship deliberately collided with one of its vessels near the disputed Scarborough Shoal and that it responded with water cannons and other “control measures”. A coastguard spokesman said the Philippines’ “provocative actions are egregious”.
The Philippine Coast Guard meanwhile said China’s “aggressive actions” had damaged one of its vessels and left one of its personnel injured.