Hegemonic designs

Letter September 10, 2022
Hegemonic designs

KARACHI:

The new indigenous warship carrier, INS Vikrant, is a major technological achievement for India which has now joined an elite league of a few naval powers such as the US, Russia and China who have this capability. India has now become the third navy to have commissioned a domestically built aircraft carrier in the past three years. The INS Vikrant has the capacity to hold up to 12 fighter jets and 6 helicopters. It is a floating airfield.

The induction of the aircraft carrier is India’s ambition to fulfill maritime interests in the Indo-Pacific region to compete China’s growing influence in the region. It is the country’s first homebuilt aircraft carrier. Earlier, the UK-built aircraft carrier was deployed by India during the 1971 war. India’s hegemonic military design will cause unrest and a fear of war in the region. China will be eyeing this development and ramp up its own naval capabilities to ensure the defence of its territorial waters and its ability to project power. China has already launched its first domestically designed Fujian carrier, which is a new generation aircraft carrier. On the other hand, Pakistan has been very much aware about India’s growing maritime power and has been building its defensive and offensive capabilities with Chinese assistance and foreign deals.

India’s capability in building the indigenous warships will raise the morale of the Indian military and the confidence of the people of India. The BJP leadership will certainly use the induction of the carrier for political point scoring. It is also the BJP government’s official position that India’s naval and military power is projected beyond its boundaries — a prerequisite for being potent regional and global power.

Ghazanfar Soomro

Shikarpur

Published in The Express Tribune, September 11th, 2022.

Like Opinion & Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.