Tribune India
Ajay Banerjee
Wednesday May 25, 2022
India will be joining as an associate member of the
34-nation Combined Military Forces (CMF) at Bahrain. It was agreed upon
following a meeting between PM Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden in
Tokyo today.
US, allies members
Combined Military Forces is tasked with keeping an eye on
the shipping lanes through the Red Sea and the Suez Canal that connects Europe
with Asia
Several parts along the coast of Somalia are prone to
piracy. India has been patrolling these seas independently since 2008
The US and its allies, besides several Asian countries like
Pakistan, are part of the Bahrain-based forces.
The CMF is tasked with keeping an eye on the shipping lanes
through the Red Sea and Suez Canal that connects Europe with Asia. Several parts
along the coast of Somalia are prone to piracy. India, so far, has been
patrolling these seas independently since 2008. The US and its allies, besides
several Asian countries like Pakistan, are part of the Bahrain-based forces.
Also, the crucial Indo-Pacific partnership for maritime
domain awareness has been established. India already has an agreement of its
own to exchange real-time information in Asia and the far-east. The
formalisation would mean smoother information-sharing. The Indian Navy operates
Information Management and Analysis Centre that collates real-time imagery from
several locations to provide a picture to commanders at sea of any approaching
threats.
India and the US are working on expanding the partnership on
critical and emerging technologies, spearheaded by the respective National
Security Councils.
Cooperation in space, cyber and artificial intelligence is
crucial in future conflicts. India and the US look to match China, which, in
the past four years, has doubled its space assets doing intelligence gathering
and surveillance and can monitor, track and target forces of other countries
worldwide, especially in the Indo-Pacific.
A report, “Challenges to Security in Space — 2022”, released
by the US Defense Intelligence Agency, stated, “As of January 2022, China’s
intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance satellite fleet contained more
than 250 systems — a quantity second only to the US.”