Tailoring the Global Network for Real Burden Sharing at Sea by Lawrence Mark W.;

Author:Lawrence, Mark W.;
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 4085933
Publisher: CENTER FOR STRATEGIC & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

Nascent Relationships with High Upside Potential

INDIA AND BRAZIL

Bringing the growing navies of these two nations firmly into the global network will not be easy, but no other partners have comparable potential to bolster a favorable international order in the mid- to long-term—and specifically check the disruptive efforts of China and Russia. After President Obama’s successful meetings with Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India75 and agreements on deeper defense ties,76 expanded cooperation with India is likely to be driven top down within the Department of Defense. The Navy must therefore stay postured to channel senior departmental attention toward effective maritime initiatives. Brazil, in contrast, is likely to receive comparably little senior leader attention as the Department of Defense executes QDR14 guidance. The Navy must highlight Brazil’s naval aspirations as an opportunity to shape a bilateral relationship of equal long-term importance—one at some risk of counterproductive Chinese economic influence.77

With demonstrations of China’s newfound reach into the Indian Ocean78 looming large for the Modi government, India’s Navy is committing significant resources within an essentially flat defense budget to amplify its presence on the country’s east coast.79 Domestic manufacturing lines for corvettes, destroyers, and nuclear ballistic missile submarines are up and running, promising a formidable seagoing fleet by the middle of the next decade. These will soon be supplemented with French-designed diesel-electric submarines, as well as Russian-made fixed wing aircraft for India’s two medium-displacement aircraft carriers.80 Also on the aviation front, India contracted for American SH-60 helicopters and is expected to purchase Japanese seaplanes.81 Some see in these procurement patterns continuing evidence of India’s traditional hedging behavior.82 Yet, the Modi government’s new defense and security dialogue with Japan,83 and its more equitable defense-industrial discourse with the United States,84 could prove crucial in completing India’s transition from Cold War nonalignment to modern-day geopolitical influence. The Indian Navy’s response to U.S. calls for an expanded Malabar exercise85 series should provide an early indication of how confident the service is becoming in its rapidly growing regional profile.

Brazil’s Navy, already the largest in the Western Hemisphere after the U.S. Navy, aspires to exclusive status as a modern blue-water force with indigenous nuclear propulsion and advanced carrier-based power projection capabilities. Near-zero growth and rising inflation suggest this will be a longer-term project than India’s.86 Brazil’s current fleet consists of a mix of French, British, and German excess articles spanning most ship categories, including a light aircraft carrier originally in service for France. As evidenced by Brazil’s reported interest in modern French carrier design,87 as well as contracts for Scorpene diesel-electric submarines88 and Sweden’s “navalized” Gripen fixed-wing tactical aircraft,89 new European defense industry inroads into the South American country could help bring the Brazilian Navy into the global network where American efforts cannot. That said, the U.S. Navy has consistently voiced its support for Brazilian Navy efforts to build nuclear submarine capability90 and to participate in high-profile multilateral exercises.91 Especially in light of U.S. Southern Command’s “economy of force” circumstances,92 U.S. Navy interactions with Brazil’s deployed naval forces in places

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