In the Asian century, the Empire is on a mission to re-discover India. Britain wants to win a bigger share of the defence market.
On Board HMS Illustrious: In the Asian century, the Empire is on a mission to re-discover India.
And there is no better place than the western coast of India through which the first British sailors came and last of the colonisers left.
In what is a clear statement of intent to engage with India and intensify its strategic relations, the British government and its Navy are making an all out effort to impress their Indian counterparts as the two sides stage the biggest bilateral naval exercise in 40 years.
The British government has also converted the occasion into a show of the importance it attaches to its former colony and its efforts to win a bigger share of the defence market here.
The exercise is a “sign of the new strategic partnership,” says British high commissioner Sir Michael Arthur, who is among the many high profile British officials who have descended on Goa and on Illustrious to impress their Indian guests.
Sir Michael says the “delay” in British Navy getting into such a big engagement with Indian counterparts was because of their operational engagements and the distance.
“This ship has not been this far,” he said standing on Illustrious, a relatively small aircraft carrier that saw an Indian navy jet landing on its decks as part of the efforts to develop common operating procedures.
“We are very good partners in sea, we have a shared maritime heritage. We need to do exercises like this more often,” says Bob Cooling, captain of HMS Illustrious. The British Navy fielded, besides Illustrious, a nuclear submarine, four surface ships, and several fighters and helicopters. India has fielded its Western Fleet, led by indigenously built INS Mumbai. “We are future partners,” says Cooling.
Called Konkan 2006, the exercise is also one of the biggest bilateral naval exercises India has ever done with any other country, and Navy officers are comparing it with the last Malabar series exercise with the US.
Flag Officer Commanding Western Fleet Rear Admiral Anup Singh said, “We are learning many new procedures.” During the exercise, the British government is also making an all out effort to make deeper inroads into Indian defence markets.
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