India should be concerned about Chinese submarines in the Indian Ocean: USA

The Commander of the United States Pacific Command, Admiral Harry B Harris on Wednesday said that the US and Indian navies spread regular information about the movement of Chinese submarines in the Indian Ocean. Speaking about the Chinese maritime movements, he cautioned that India should be worried about the influence of China in the region. Admiral Harris told the IE that the US and India were closely working together and the former was helping India’s capability do conduct such level of surveillance. He added that through the ‘Malabar exercise’ helped the US Navy to hone its ability to track China’s activities in the Indian ocean. Chinese submarines operating through the region was a major issue, he added.

Admiral Harris further added that India should be concerned about the increasing influence of China in the region. He said that if India believed there was only finite influence then whatever influence China has, India doesn’t. Although Pakistan doesn’t fall under the jurisdiction of the Pacific Command, the relationship between both of India’s neighbours remains a major concern for both the US and India. He added that the US and India have the same views about China and are in a good place.

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Admiral Harris highlighted the signing of military logistics between both the countries following a decade and hoped that the Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA) would be signed but added that it would be done only at a pace that India was comfortable with. COMCASA would allow the secure communication exchange between the two armed forces while BECA would be facilitating the sharing of all geospatial data. He explained the importance of the deals and said that the P8 was the world’s best anti-submarine warfare platform. He informed that India had the P8-I and Us had the P-8A but they had extremely different communications systems making them interoperable. Hence, to maximise the potential of the aeroplane in the Indian Ocean against Chine submarines, the agreement needed to be signed.