Date: 24/12/2022

Relevance: GS-2: Bilateral Agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests.

Key Phrases: AUKUS by the US, nuclear submarine building project, Arihant, US nuclear submarine technology, naval propulsion reactor, QUAD, Mitsubishi and Hitachi, Euro fighter Tornado aircraft project, national security strategy.

Context:

• Last year, the announcement of the AUKUS by the US without prior warning was one of the low points in Indian foreign policy.
• Such an announcement was most probably caused by a perception in Washington that Australia was a more reliable ally against Beijing than India.
• The perception was probably caused by the Indian hesitancy to agree to even minimally militarize the QUAD from a purely diplomatic grouping to a more military alignment.
• However, there is an opportunity to leap-frog the disappointment over the AUKUS by inviting Japan to join India in a bilateral nuclear submarine building project.

Why does India need Japanese collaboration for the nuclear submarine building project?

• Need to supplement the existing efforts:
  • India has already launched the Arihant and the follow-on is about to be commissioned.
• Misperception that all nuclear submarines are similar:
  • Only the US and the UK operate nuclear submarines with a fuel core of 95 percent enrichment.
  • Thereby giving the propulsion unit enormous power over the 35-year lifespan of the submarine.
  • Indian submarines have a core of low-enriched uranium, giving them a limited life of fewer than 10 years at a moderate operating tempo.
• US nuclear submarines have so much reserve power that they can operate continuously for a long duration.
• US submarines capable of covering long distances:
  • US submarine transit at 500 miles a day at cruising speed.
• US denied technological access to India:
  • Many attempts by the Indian navy to pursue support for US nuclear submarine technology have been refused on the grounds of US naval opposition.
  • The consequences of not being given access to US nuclear submarine technology are devastating for the Indian Navy’s plans to offensively confront Beijing in the maritime arena.

How can Indo-Japan collaboration be a great success?

• Technological advancement of Japan in Nuclear field:
  • India to acquire highly enriched core reactors can come from Japan.
  • Japan has the capacity to build a naval propulsion reactor.
  • Japan is India's strong partner in the QUAD against China.
  • In fact, Mitsubishi and Hitachi are about to launch a new generation of nuclear power reactors to attain carbon zero by 2050.
• Indo-Japan nuclear submarines can be built on the line of the Euro fighter Tornado aircraft project.
  • The Euro fighter Tornado aircraft project began in 1983, but was delayed by the end of the Cold War.
  • The multinational consortium consists of the UK, Germany, Italy and Spain, each nation contributing what it was best at, to build a highly successful multi-role fighter.
  • If the Europeans can get together to build an aircraft to deter a common foe, Indo-Japan can surely copy the model to deter an even bigger potential foe.
• Many hurdles for India to independently build a nuclear-propelled submarine.
  • The product and its availability deter Indian naval nuclear submarine ambitions.

How will such projects strengthen India’s offensive capabilities?

• Contain the rise of aggressive China:
  • China has an overseas base in Djibouti, almost 6,000 miles from its home base is a threat to India’s strategic position in the Indian ocean.
  • India had to reoriented its military grand strategy from defensive territoriality to an offensive oceanic one.
  • Such offensive capabilities will make the Chinese base in Djibouti not exist for more than 72 hours in case of war.
  • Such offensive capabilities are needed when China is continuously showing aggressive posture on the LAC.
• Address issues in Indian submarine technology based on low-enriched uranium core:
  • An Indian nuclear submarine with an Indian low-enriched uranium core will force India on the backfoot, into a cautious maritime strategy, because of the submarine’s extremely limited operating profile.
  • A nuclear submarine with a highly enriched core, and unlimited endurance, could, after departing Visakhapatnam, be off Shanghai in 5-6 days.
• Supplement the Quad and Indo-Pacific security initiatives:
  • An Indo-Japanese nuclear submarine project with both countries operating nuclear submarines in the South China sea would strengthen their presence in the Indo-Pacific.
  • This will also supplement the Quad and Indo-Pacific security initiatives.

Way Forward:

• Need is to supplement Atma Nirbhar with an Asian multilateral nuclear submarine project for Naval self-reliance.
• The Indian Navy’s excellent design organisation can provide the drawings for the submarine, while Mitsubishi or Hitachi manufactures the propulsion reactor.
• The whole nuclear submarine project can be managed by an inter-governmental group probably led by the Controller of Warship Building in New Delhi.
• The project will certainly need strong ministerial leadership, from either the External Affairs Ministry or Ministry of Defence.
• India’s military grand strategy must surely mean more than holding off the People’s Liberation Army in the Himalayas.
• An Indo-Japanese nuclear submarine project would bring in an element of oceanic retribution to influence the strategic choices seen to be available with China.
• The whole country has waited for decades for a national security strategy, but in the meanwhile, the Navy should take the initiative.

Source: Indian Express

Mains Question

Q.“A paradigm shift in the Indo-Japan defense relations is required to cope up with the emerging demands and the changes in the Indo-Pacific region. It is not feasible for India and Japan to progress through the 21st century with 20th century Naval technologies.” Comment. (15 marks)