Underscoring the growing Chinese clout in the Indian Ocean, Ashley J Tellis, a senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, stated that it was imperative for India and the US to collaborate on developing New Delhi's naval capability by developing next-generation aircraft carriers.
"For India, the novel challenge of the future will be to tackle the Chinese presence in the Indian Ocean. In recent years, China's activities have been scaled up, and it is clear that Beijing is looking at a long-term presence in the Indian Ocean," Tellis said at a special discussion hosted by the Ananta Aspen Centre.
"On the other hand, the US has a strategic interest in ensuring that the Indian Navy's hold in the Indian Ocean remains unchallenged. We must look at creative ways to harness the opportunities presented by friends and allies," he added.
Tellis further said that there is a 'synergy' between New Delhi's need and the availability in the US, adding that it would benefit India to have a fifth-generation aircraft on its carriers.
"India has never built a large scale CATOBAR carrier, and it is very difficult to build a CATOBAR carrier of 65000 tonnes. On the other hand, the US Navy has been making such carriers for the past 30 years. There is clearly a synergy between the need in India and availability in the US. It is also in India's interest to have a fifth-generation aircraft on its carriers, since China deploys late fourth generation aircraft," he said.
Meanwhile, Former Chief of Naval Staff of the Indian Navy, Admiral Arun Prakash, said that for a long time the choice of aircraft in carriers remained a dilemma.
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"India did get an aircraft carrier in 1961 and another in 1980. During this time, we built some warships, but the choice of aircraft in carriers remained a dilemma. Till quite recently, we had no hope of getting a catapult mechanism from the US and no hope of using western fighter planes. However, there is now an opportunity that may be
explored," said Admiral Prakash.