India
and China will
order 100 new naval ships and submarines each by 2032 due to changing global
security environment and increasing reliance on the sea for trade in the
strategic region, according to a US-based naval consultancy. The new orders
would include nuclear and conventional submarines and new aircraft carriers, a
balanced mix of destroyers, frigates, smaller units, amphibious and logistics
vessels, Coast Guard and maritime patrol forces, said Bob Nugent, the
vice-president of AMI International.
The two countries combined would account for 30 by volume
and 45 per cent by value of the 1048 naval vessels, worth about $200 billion,
to be ordered by the Asia Pacific countries in next 20 years, he said. "We
see the Asia Pacific market as about $200 billion worth of new ships and
submarines," he said. The region has become second to the US.
"The Asia Pacific submarine investment is significant,
with 100 to be ordered over 20 years, making it the single region buying more
submarines than anywhere else in the world," Nugent told a press
conference of the International Maritime Defence Exhibition & Conference to
be held here on May 14-16.
Comparatively, the US
was projected to order 453 naval vessels, or about 14 per cent of the global
orders, between 2012 and 2032. South Korea,
Japan and Australia
were expected to acquire 220 new vessels worth USD 62 billion during the next
20 years.
Singapore,
Malaysia, Indonesia
and Vietnam
were also active in the market with the new ship and submarine acquisition
programmes. Nugent said Asia Pacific's increasing trade, increasing reliance on
the sea for trade and positive economic growths provide the fund for naval
investments.
He noted the changing global security environment, saying
there was a broader demand for all aspects of naval capabilities after the Cold
War ended. There was also increased demand for maritime security in the growing
economic zones and need to upgrade technologies in naval facilities.
"India's
Scorpene procurement and follow-on P-75 submarine programme remain the
centrepieces of the region's largest confirmed spender on new submarine
capability. The launch of the indigenous Arihant nuclear submarine also marks a
long-awaited next step in India's
development as a global navy," said Nugent.
Meanwhile, China
was forecast to add 16 conventional and nuclear powered hulls to the fleet over
the next 5 years, the most number of new hulls of any Asia Pacific navies for
that period. "China's
submarine procurements are also influencing other navies in the region to fill
submarine and anti-submarine capability gaps, notably in Vietnam,
where the first of six new conventional submarines from Russia
are expected to become operational within the next 12 months."
Meanwhile, 15 warships from across the globe have arrived in
Singapore to
participate in the exhibition and conference this week. The ships include India's
INS Satpura, a Shivalik class Frigate and INS Kirch, a Kora class Corvette.
Some 30 chiefs of navy and coast guard, and heads of
maritime agencies would be attending the conference while 194 naval and defence
hardware and software companies would be participating in the three-day
exhibition.
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