India and UK in final stages of signing defence logistics pact, will extend reach

NEW DELHI: India and the UK are in the final stages of signing a defence logistics sharing pact, according to people aware of the development, adding to a host of similar agreements with other Indo-Pacific nations that can expand the reach of Indian warships and aircraft in the region.

The logistics pact, which will enable reciprocal use of bases and airfields for fuel, supplies and spares, has been under discussion with the UK, besides an agreement on joint training.

India already has similar pacts with six nations that have interest in the Indo-Pacific region.

“India’s military logistics pacts have the potential to substantially enhance the Indian Navy’s operational reach in the Indo-Pacific region. From Reunion to Djibouti and Salalah to Guam, India now has access to the remote reaches of the Indo Pacific. A logistics agreement with the UK will, for the first time, offer India access to naval facilities in the distant Atlantic,” said Abhijit Singh, who heads the maritime policy initiative at the Observer Research Foundation.

While the practical use will be determined in the coming years, these pacts can give India access to a range of ports and military bases in the region – from major garrisons in the Gulf to the remote Keeling island in the South Indian Ocean, and strategic military locations like Okinawa and Busan.

India has logistics sharing pacts with the US, France, Singapore, South Korea, Australia and Japan. Advanced discussions are also on with Russia to ink the pact soon – possibly at the next bilateral meeting scheduled for this month.

“The agreement with the UK in a way provides a foundational access map for India across the Indo-Pacific. Depending on political will, through these logistics pacts India would not only have access to the entry and exit points in the Indian Ocean, but reach and presence at strategic locations in the Indo-Pacific,” said Darshana Barua, non-resident scholar, Carnegie Endowment.

While India has been very careful in using these pacts – occasional refuelling at sea and bases has taken place with the US, Indian planes have used the Reunion islands as a turnaround base and Singapore has acted as a hub – the potential to leverage these should be visible in the coming years as the naval footprint increases in the region to counter China’s ambitions.

China has started creating military bases in the Indian Ocean Region – starting with Djibouti – while India has opted for the more benign approach of entering into logistics sharing pacts that ensure adequate reach for forces, without any underlying territorial aspirations.

Major military logistics sharing pacts signed by India give access to warships and aircraft across the Indo-Pacific region, a capability that never existed before. From multiple options in the Gulf to the deep Indian Ocean and the sensitive South China Sea, these pacts will enable easy movement of the military, whenever the need arises.

Busan (South Korea)

Okinawa/Iwo Jima (Japan)

Singapore

Cocoa Keeling (Australia)

Andamans (India)

La Reunion (France),

Djibouti and Bahrain (UK)

Guam (US)