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288 australian maritime issues 2009: spc-a annual
of naval cooperation in improving interstate relations. Yet, the reality of the benefits is
implicit in the very fact that nations and navies continue to indulge in this demanding
and costly endeavour year after year, even in these very ‘money mindful’ times. The
factors contributing to tensions are:
• Sovereignty Concerns. The very medium of the oceans that the
navies operate upon, serves to quell fears and concerns arising from
sovereignty issues. This makes it possible for even rival navies to
cooperate on the high seas without stirring any such concerns at home.
Operating together at sea does much to calm the nerves while still not
raising concerns of giving leeway to the adversaries.
• Transparency. One of the biggest spin-offs of naval cooperation is
transparency. Transparency is an accepted norm of confidence-building.
Transparency breeds trust while secretiveness breeds distrust. The
‘Airborne Monitoring Agreement’, the predecessor of the ‘Open
Skies’ program, between Hungary and Romania in the early 1990s,
was designed to promote transparency between the two countries
and was considered a ‘notable success in smoothing the relations’. 12
Transparency helps competing nations solve their security dilemmas
by providing a more realistic assessment of each other’s capabilities
and intentions. This prevents assumption of the worst case scenario,
as also the spiralling chain of reactions which normally aggravate
tensions and conflicts.
• Benchmarking. While promoting transparency, naval cooperation also
offers an opportunity for the participating navies to benchmark each
other’s technology, professionalism and spirit. In a tacit way this adds
to the net deterrence worth and helps in preventing conflicts. In the
year 2000 for instance, Singapore participated in 70 exercises with
its military partners, hosted multilateral exercises in diving and mine
countermeasures with other members of the WPNS and a submarine
rescue exercise with the Japanese and South Korean navies. 13 ‘Such
exercises enhance friendship and understanding, and also allow the
Republic of Singapore Navy to benchmark itself against some of the
most advanced navies of the world’. 14
• Image Enhancement. Naval cooperation offers a means to showcase
the operational capabilities of the participating navies. By frequent
participation, interaction with major powers and staying operationally
relevant, a navy can carve out a positive image of the country in the
world arena. This helps in creating ‘political space’ on the world stage
that further perks up security.