India gets strategic access in South-East Asia region

New Delhi: By negotiating access to the strategically located Sabang island in Indonesia and by inking an implementation  pact with Singapore for logistic support for naval platforms including submarines, India is being seen as having attained a huge strategic foothold in south-east Asia, even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi headed home after a tour widely seen as successful.

Meanwhile, before his return to India on Saturday, Mr Modi in Singapore visited the Changi Naval Base and met officers and sailors of the Indian Navy and Royal Singapore Navy. 

In a region marked by increased Chinese economic and military assertiveness, India has extremely close defence ties with Vietnam, but has put forth a determined effort to strengthen strategic ties with other ASEAN nations as well in a move to broadbase support in the region. “India and Singapore are cooperating not only on land, but also in the seas! At the Changi Naval Base I got an opportunity to witness the deep-rooted naval cooperation betw-een our two nations,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted. 

He also interacted with the officers and sailors on board the Indian Navy’s Shivalik class stealth frigate INS Satpura, according to news agency reports from Singapore.

In a major defence initiative, India had on Friday inked an implementation  pact with Singapore between the two navies for “Coordination, Logistics and Services Support” for naval ships, submarines and naval aircraft. The defence pact was an “Implementation agreement between Indian Navy and Republic of Singapore Navy concerning Mutual Coordination, Logistics and Services Support for Naval Ships’, Submarines and Naval Aircraft (including Ship borne Aviation Assets) visits.”

Earlier this week, Mr Modi and Indonesian President Joko Widodo held talks in Jakarta and confirmed the setting up of “a Joint Task Force to undertake projects”.