Context: India and the United States have conducted a bilateral tri-service humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) exercise on Kakinada Beach, Andhra Pradesh, as part of ‘Tiger Triumph-24’.
About Tiger Triumph Exercise:
- Aim: enhancing readiness during natural disasters and cooperation between the two forces.
- Part of the ongoing partnership between India and the United States.
- It improved interoperability for conducting Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) operations and refined Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to enable rapid and smooth coordination.
- INS Jalashwa of the Indian Navy and the USS Somerset of the US Navy along with other vessels including the USS Halsey, the INS Airavat and the INS Kesari participated.
For more information: INDO- US RELATIONS
Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) activities undertaken by India:
- India launched Operation Karuna in 2023 to assist cyclone-hit Myanmar, where Indian naval ships carried emergency relief materials to Yangon.
- India became one of the first countries to assist the Turkish government in humanitarian efforts through Operation Dost following the deadly earthquakes in the country.
- New Delhi offered a helping hand to Pakistan in wake of its devastating floods in 2022 and during the COVID-19 pandemic India was one of the first to deploy capacities across the West Asian region.
- India through its Operation Insaniyat in 2017, sent aid to Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh.
- These operations remind the world that humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) is a key element of Indian foreign policy.
History of HADR:
- HADR came in focus of foreign policy in the aftermath of the Indian Ocean tsunami in December 2004, when the Indian Navy provided holistic intervention in the form of reconnaissance, rescue and relief operations of survivors in Sri Lanka, the Maldives, and Indonesia.
- This initiative enabled India to project its soft power and it had the prerequisite resources and manpower to manage the crisis.
- To navigate through the crisis, India employed indigenous resources in the form of Indian naval ships, aircraft, and helicopters and the Indian Navy became the first international navy to commence rescue operations within 12 hours of the tsunami.
- India was eventually invited to be a part of the Tsunami Core Group, put together by the United States to provide relief and assistance.
- India provided humanitarian assistance during natural calamities (Bhutan, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka) and security conflicts (Afghanistan, Myanmar, and Sri Lanka) over the last decade, thus, cementing its position as a first responder in crisis.
Securitization of HADR:
- While Indian HADR efforts are usually non-intrusive, China has offered humanitarian assistance on an ad hoc basis to increase its influence.
- China has often disregarded abiding by the principles of military participation in HADR, such as multilateral coordination with other foreign militaries and other civilian organizations.
- China has used HADR to increase its influence in South Asia as well. Chinese humanitarian intervention during the Nepal earthquakes in 2015 was a matter of concern for India.
- China potentially compromised Nepali sovereignty.
- In order to appease China, Nepal not only refused aid from Taiwan but also asked the Indian Army rescue team not to fly near China’s airspace.
- HADR operations have also led China to increase its interregional port calls.
- China’s military pact with the Solomon Islands.
- The security agreement includes HADR as one of the main areas of security cooperation.
Indian response:
- India is worried about a growing Chinese presence in South Asia and the Indo-Pacific and India views two regions as its natural backyard and believes in the ideal of a ‘free and open Indo-Pacific.’
- China may potentially use HADR to subvert Indian influence in South Asia and the IOR.
- India’s flagship maritime policy of Security and Growth for All’ (SAGAR), 2015:
- India has constituted the Annual Joint HADR Exercise (AJHE)-Operation Chakravat, to demonstrate India’s capabilities in disaster risk mitigation, and disaster risk response within the IOR.
- India has instituted Operation Tiger Triumph exercise with the United States to foster tri-services engagement while having the ability to conduct amphibious HADR operations in the advent of a natural calamity.
- Multilateral exercises with various multilateral organisations: HADR exercise PANEX 21 for BIMSTEC 2021; SMANVAY 22 for ASEAN members in 2022.
- Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QUAD):
- Quad has deliberated on providing coordinated responses to climate disasters while expanding its capacity, capability, and interoperability within the Indo-Pacific.
- Quad sherpas organized the first Quad HADR in New Delhi in December 2022.
Way Forward
- India should invest in suitable platforms to enhance its HADR missions through the acquisition of utility helicopters, Landing Platform Helicopters (LPHs), and Landing Platform Docks (LPDs) to ensure faster deployments.
- India and China must engage in confidence building measures (CBMs):
- These measures are important, so that overt securitization of HADR does not contribute to the creation of new security dilemmas in the IOR.
- Benign actions of one nation should not be deemed as a threat by another.
- Specific initiatives could include a greater focus on:
- Quadrilateral dialogue with the United States, Australia and Japan with more focus on HADR exercises and capacity-building;
- bilateral dialogues and exercises with Indonesia, other ASEAN members, France and the European Union on disaster management and relief.
- Capacity-building for Indian Ocean-island and littoral states.
Conclusion
HADR being a relatively non-controversial point of agenda can act as a tool for strengthening India’s ties with its neighbours, along with reviving regional cooperation, whether through SAARC, BIMSTEC or other forums.