Download - Royal Australian Navy

naval cooperation: a view from india
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• Reduction of Costs. Cooperation makes possible the pooling of
resources between countries for solving common problems. This
spreads the risks and costs, while increasing, and demonstrating, the
legitimacy of the operation. It therefore provides a ‘means by which
smaller navies can exert more influence than they could on their own’. 8
• Mutual Learning. Multinational maritime forces benefit from frequent
periods in company to exercise and develop their full operational
effectiveness. 9 Cooperation also enables enhancement of maritime
domain awareness, examining and imbibing of ‘best practices’ and
generation of interoperability.
• Improvement in State Relations. The diplomatic role is an important
role of navies the world over. Most nations regard ‘men of war’ as
virtual ‘ambassadors’ of the state and use them as instruments of
foreign policy. 10 Warships are commonly employed on ‘flag showing’
missions with the aim of fostering cooperation and building ‘bridges
of friendship across the oceans’. 11
How does Naval Cooperation Help in Reducing Tensions?
Naval operations in the past were customarily shrouded in confidentiality. This was
because apprehensions prevailed not only regarding the possibility of the adversary
finding out the technical and combat parameters of vital equipment, but also about
the likelihood of his estimating crew efficiency, procedures, morale and level of
preparedness. This information, if obtained by the enemy, could be used in times of
war and peace, to his advantage. Alternately the information could be supplied to any
other interested nation. In the absence of a clear understanding as to who the adversary
was or could be, navies resorted to operating out of ‘sight’ of others. In the event of
unscheduled encounters at sea, the reactions often ranged from between neutral, cold,
competitive to aggressive and hostile.
In the present times much has changed over the oceans. Naval units operate selfassuredly
in the littorals, in the vicinity of ships and aircraft from other nations,
communicating and even exercising with them. The levels of cooperation have shown a
steady upswing and so has the scope of exercises carried out. Unscheduled encounters
are not only used for exchanging pleasantries, but also navigational and operational
information. Notwithstanding these changes, in the complex world order, relations
between states are shaped by various other factors such as historical, ethnic, economic,
political, ideological affinities and ties besides defence cooperation. There exists no
simple formula to extrapolate the benefits of naval cooperation directly on to state
relations; the benefits can at best be estimated subjectively. Further, the gestation
period for a change in perception is long. Therefore, it is difficult to quantify the effects