New Delhi: China’s strong military tie-up with Pakistan, as seen during Operation Sindoor, figured prominently in a parliamentary committee meeting as members sought to know about India’s preparedness and future plans to deal with their alliance.
At the meeting of the Standing Committee on External Affairs, some opposition members also flagged Bangladesh’s perceived proximity to China, while an MP noted that India’s defence budget as a percentage of GDP is at its lowest in the last several decades, sources said.
The agenda of the committee, which is headed by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, was “Evaluation of India’s Indian Ocean Strategy”, with Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh, secretary (east) of the MEA and senior Navy officials appearing before the panel.
Singh stressed the increasing thrust on modernisation and further boosting the capability of the Navy, laying out long-term plans toward this.
The might of the Indian Navy was highlighted by officials, who also emphasised its crucial role in protecting the country’s economic interests.
Congress MP Deepender Singh Hooda, the sources said, raised the issue of India’s relatively low defence budget as the share of GDP and the danger of a triangle of China, Pakistan and Bangladesh coming up against Indian interest.
There was an acknowledgement that the defence expenditure as the share of GDP should go up, an MP said, adding that some members cited the huge increase in the corresponding budget by China over the decades to boost its military.
The sources said some MPs suggested that Operation Sindoor underlined the military alliance between Pakistan and China, whose military hardware was the main source of Pakistan’s weaponry.
Tharoor told reporters that “India’s Indian Ocean Strategy” is a foreign policy subject that has important defence dimensions. He described the discussion as thorough.
He said Operation Sindoor was not discussed but “some of the elements that became apparent during that confrontation” came up in deliberations, seen as a reference to the spotlight the military conflict threw on China’s military support to Pakistan.
A background note from the external affairs ministry, sources said, added that foreign, especially Chinese, research and survey vessels are at times deployed in the Indian Ocean to collect sensitive oceanography and marine data.
Their activities are closely monitored and appropriate diplomatic steps are taken as per international law, it said.
Follow on Twitter | Posted by Marziya Sharif | 
