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In a first, India will reportedly post defence attaches in a number of countries, including Mozambique, Ethiopia, Ivory Coast, the Philippines, Poland, and Armenia, in line with its goal to expand strategic ties in key regions amid a renewed push by China to scout for military facilities in India's neighbourhood and beyond.
A total of 16 defence attaches from the Indian Army, Navy and Air Force will assume their new positions shortly. Citing people familiar with the matter, news agency PTI reported this development on Wednesday.
The move comes at a time when the US intelligence community believes that China will continue to pursue the establishment of additional overseas military installations and access agreements, including in India's neighbourhood, with possible bases in Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Seychelles, and the UAE being in Beijing's sights.
China could also pursue setting up military facilities in Cuba, Equatorial Guinea, Tajikistan, and Tanzania.
Published on March 11, an intelligence report, called the The Annual Threat Assessment of the US Intelligence Community, said: "The People's Liberation Army (PLA) will continue to pursue the establishment of overseas military installations and access agreements in an attempt to project power and protect China's interests abroad."
As part of the latest moves, New Delhi will also be appointing a new defence attache to Djibouti, the African nation that serves as a maritime gateway around the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden and is considered a crucial location for military bases.
According to the PTI report, the new defence attache slated for Djibouti will be the second to hold the post in the island nation.
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To date, China has only confirmed one overseas military facility, in Djibouti. Operational since 2017, the Djibouti facility has access to the crucial Red Sea shipping lanes.
The PTI report added that India was also planning to rationalise the strength of its teams comprising military officials at its high commission in London and the embassy in Moscow. As part of this process, a number of defence attaches posted in these two countries will be deployed elsewhere based on New Delhi's foreign policy priorities and for optimum use of available manpower.
Citing an unnamed source aware of the matter, PTI reported that the decision to appoint defence attaches in the African nations of Mozambique, Ethiopia and Ivory Coast was in line with India's priority to broaden its strategic engagement in Africa. This comes at a time when a number of African countries have expressed interest in buying Indian military hardware.
India has renewed its efforts to position itself as a leading voice for the Global South in recent years, especially the African continent, amid China's efforts to expand its influence in African nations. The 55-nation African Union's induction as a permanent member of the G20 in 2023 was a major milestone of India's presidency of the grouping.
India has also been expanding its defence relationship with the Philippines amid growing concerns over China's increasing military aggression in the South China Sea. In January 2022, India sealed a deal with the Philippines for supplying three batteries of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile worth $375 million. The supplies of the missiles are set to begin soon, PTI reported.
Meanwhile, the decision to appoint a defence attache to Armenia comes as the country in the Caucasus region has shown interest in enhancing its defence ties with India. In 2023, a deal was firmed up to supply Indian military equipment, including multi-barrel rocket launchers, to Armenia amid the Armenia-Azerbaijan clash over Nagorno-Karabakh.
New Delhi's decision to appoint a defence attache in Poland, which is a member of the European Union (EU), is reflective of India's desire to expand two-way defence ties, PTI reported, citing the same unnamed sources. The EU had posted a military attache to its mission in India for the first time in 2023.
