Indian Defence minister urges the Navy to keep an eye on China in the IOR.

Indian Defence minister Rajnath Singh apparently urged the Indian Navy to increase monitoring Chinese activities in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) and in the Pacific Ocean. This comes as China, in the past months, strengthened its presence in the region, claiming all the South China Sea as part of its sovereignty.

A P-8I aircraft destined to conduct Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) and Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) operations. Such aircraft are used by the Indian Navy to monitor the Indian Ocean Region (Picture Source: Indian Navy)

On Sunday, June 30, Defence minister Rajnath Singh asserted that China increasingly flexes its muscles in the Indo-Pacific region and therefore asked the Indian Navy to keep a close eye on Chinese activities.

China has been trying to increase its presence in the region. It has been claiming all of the South China Sea. Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei - all members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) - and Taiwan have counterclaims over the region. The Indo-Pacific region comprising of the Indian Ocean and the western and central Pacific Ocean.

Recently, India, US, Australia and Japan collectively came out in support of an ASEAN-led mechanism for preserving and promoting a rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific region where China is flexing its muscles. Those countries often conduct freedom of navigation operations (FONOPS) through the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait.