The 11th edition of the International Institute of Strategic Studies (IISS) Asia-Pacific Regional Security Assessment (APRSA) released on the occasion on Shangrila Dialogue beginning on Friday in Singapore noted, “For India, being a ‘preferred security partner through defence partnerships, from combined exercises to arms transfer, increases its regional presence, which in turn enhances its influence with Asia-Pacific countries while countering Beijing’s regional influence. India’s defence engagement is and will continue to be focused on the Indian Ocean region, although it is working to increase its presence in Southeast Asia and the Pacific Ocean. India’s expanding defence role and partnerships will likely further contribute to the increasingly competitive nature of India–China relations.’’
It may be noted that India has stepped up its maritime security partnership across SE Asia including deputing Navy ships to the region regularly.
APRSA has highlighted the growth in competition within the Asia-Pacific region, as both the United States and China vie for influence.
While the US continues to show a serious interest in dealing with China, the pressures of conflict elsewhere in Europe and the Middle East have drawn away focus from policy makers in Washington, although being “strong on China” is now a leitmotif across the partisan divide there, according to APRSA.
In the meantime, China’s coercion on economic, military and security matters leaves its neighbours uneasy while still relying on Beijing’s economic performance for prosperity, according to APRSA. ”With the US staging more than 1,100 exercises with over a dozen Asia-Pacific countries since 2003, China has executed nearly 130. But while US exercises have been more complex and better tested, China has been catching up in recent years and working with partners to develop skills in new areas. Such exercises serve a broader strategic purpose and why and how regional countries develop and implement them can affect their ability to respond to a wide range of security challenges and shape regional stability.”APRSA also looked at broader Crisis Management in the Asia-Pacific. Regional countries are concerned about the lack of communication between the United States and China, two nuclear-armed powers, at a time of heightened tension and increased interaction between their militaries. The US and China have different perceptions of what crisis management and communication means, while other regional mechanisms only partially include both countries.
Numerous mechanisms exist between China and regional countries already. Regional crisis-management mechanisms that include China are numerous but so far have not brought stability to the Asia-Pacific, according to APRSA.
