US eyes Bangladesh for naval base, has India worried

US eyes Bangladesh for naval base, has India worried
GAURAV C SAWANT

NEW DELHI, MARCH 26: The US plans for establishing a naval base in the Indian ocean region has the Indian navy worried. With no scope of setting up a naval base either in Pakistan or India, the US has been keenly eying Bangladesh.

However, according to sources in the navy, the US could not make a headway on this issue during the recent visit of President Bill Clinton to Bangladesh. The Indian navy, which has been looking for a greater role in the Indian ocean region, is wary of having ``extra-regional powers'' in the Indian ocean region.

Sources in the Naval Headquarters said Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) Admiral Sushil Kumar was against having any outside navy in the region but felt that the decision finally lay with the host country.

``In fact, during his visit to Jaipur, delivering a lecture on Challenges in the New Millennium at Rajasthan University, he even mentioned that strategically it would not be good for India if extra-regional powers set up bases in the Indian ocean region,'' said an official.

The 49,000-personnel-strong navy hopes to play a greater role in the new millennium, especially when most of the trade and resources are sea based. The navy feels that India's dependence on sea will only increase in the coming years. ``Ninety eight per cent of India's trade is through the sea. And oil resources again come only through sea,'' he added.

Apart from that, the country's strategic location in the sub-continent gives her a dominating role on the sea routes too. ``Almost 3,000 ships (merchant vessels) pass close to India's coastline (outside the exclusive economic zone) everyday. There is palpable fear and cases of piracy on high seas. Here is where the navy has a role in the coming years. And this is also how a dominant India can influence trade in the region,'' sources in the navy feel.

However, the coming of US (if the proposal becomes a reality) would alter the situation completely and instead of India, the US would be the dominating navy in the region.

``The Indian navy has no hegemonic designs in the Indian ocean region. But at the same time extra-regional powers would upset the balance of power and consequently trade. After all more than territorial power, it is economic domination that will decide power in the coming years,'' is the dominant thinking prevalent in the navy.

In fact, one argument put forward by late prime minister Rajiv Gandhi's government to send the Indian Armed Forces into Sri Lanka in 1987 (Indian Peace Keeping Force) was because the government of the day feared US intervention in Sri Lanka. ``They argued that to prevent an extra-regional power to have a say in the affairs of the subcontinent, they had to send the IPKF to Sri Lanka,'' an official said.

The US navy, sources said, was not able to decide on visiting rights to begin with at this stage. ``Our navy (Indian) at this stage has to improve its ability to be out at sea. For this, the government would need to focus more on the needs of the navy. Not only is this essential to keep our adversary in the north-west under control but also to boost trade and the economy. A powerful Indian navy could be a powerful ally for even the US in the Indian ocean region and also maintain its dominant position,'' he added.