Officials said on Wednesday that India will send a naval task force to the South China Sea this month to strengthen security ties with friendly countries, signaling the country’s desire to play a larger role in regional efforts to resist China.
The Indian military has generally avoided antagonizing China, but the tone has hardened in the wake of last year’s skirmishes between Indian and Chinese soldiers in Ladakh’s Galwan Valley. In an effort to counter China, the administration has forged tighter ties with the United States.
The navy stated in a statement that four ships, including a guided missile destroyer and a missile frigate, will be deployed for two months to Southeast Asia, the South China Sea, and the western Pacific.
“The deployment of Indian Navy ships aims to emphasize operational reach, peaceful presence, and solidarity with friendly countries in order to maintain good order in the maritime domain,” the navy stated.
The South China Sea has become one of several flashpoints in China’s tense relationship with the US, with Washington rejecting what it terms Beijing’s illegal territorial claims in the resource-rich waters.
A US aircraft carrier group led by the USS Ronald Reagan entered the South China Sea on a regular trip in June, and a British carrier group will conduct maneuvers in the Philippine Sea later this month.
The Indian ships will take part in annual joint military drills with the US, Japan, and Australia off the coast of Guam as part of their deployment, according to the navy.
The four countries make up the Quad, an informal group championed by US President Joe Biden’s administration as a means of countering China’s assertiveness.
