By Ankit Panda

February 11, 2016

"Early on Wednesday, Reuters published an interesting exclusive, suggesting that the United States and Indian navies are considering the idea of jointly conducting patrols in the South China Sea. It isn’t explicit if the idea under consideration is a bilateral U.S.-India freedom of navigation patrol, which would require Indian and U.S. vessels to challenge excessive maritime claims, or simply a bilateral passing exercise or other less contentious patrol. Both India and the United States support freedom of navigation, globally and in the South China Sea.

In recent years, as I've noted at The Diplomat, New Delhi has grown more accustomed to emphasizing the principle in its official statements. Last January, when Obama was in India for a state visit, he and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi affirmed the importance of freedom of navigation. Just this past weekend, Modi, speaking before the 2016 International Fleet Review in Visakhapatnam, reiterated Indian support for freedom of navigation."

Read more:
http://thediplomat.com/2016/02/us-india-patrols-in-the-south-china-sea-maybe-not-just-yet/

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