In May 2024, the Eastern Fleet of the Indian Navy concluded a set of “goodwill tours” to Southeast Asian nations including Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia, Philippines, and Brunei. These tours were part of a strategic Operation Deployment to the South China Sea, a clear sign of India’s intention to broaden its maritime alliances. These kinds of diplomatic tours are not new, and the Indian Navy has been conducting them for several years.
The Indian Navy explains that naval diplomacy involves leveraging naval forces to support foreign policy goals, develop “friendship bridges”, and bolster international collaboration. Apart from its military, policing, and benign roles, India employs its navy as an essential diplomatic instrument to forward its national interests and promote its foreign policy goals, both within and beyond maritime territories. Strengthening political relations and goodwill is a key objective within this diplomatic role, and the Indian Navy frequently undertakes overseas deployments and port visits to achieve this.
Commander P.K. Ghosh emphasizes that these goodwill tours of the Indian Navy to ports in friendly maritime nations are a crucial component of India’s foreign policy. While the visits are largely ceremonial and occur during peacetime, they play an important role in reinforcing maritime collaboration. Barry Blechman, a scholar, points out that the simple presence of a naval force in a region serves a political purpose. A state that establishes a peacetime naval presence in a specific region is likely to gain influence over that region’s affairs.
Although the Indian Navy has been dispatching its naval warships on goodwill tours worldwide since its independence, the focus has mainly transitioned to ports in the Indo-Pacific region in recent years.
In the last few years, Indian naval ships from the Eastern Fleet have been actively participating in goodwill tours to friendly countries across the Indo-Pacific. For instance, in 2023 alone, the Indian Navy made port calls to Cambodia, New Zealand, and Papua New Guinea. These visits are not just routine gestures to reinforce diplomatic ties; they often serve to convey subtle strategic messages, particularly to China. The timing of these deployments and the extended operational presence of the Indian Navy in the South China Sea, especially during heightened tensions between China and the Philippines, are far from coincidental.
Since the 2020 border clashes that soured the relationship between India and China, India has increasingly positioned itself as a counterweight to China’s assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific. It is evident that New Delhi has not shied away from deploying naval assets to the South China Sea, indicating a policy shift. In 2021, the Indian Navy held exercises with Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam in the region. By 2023, it participated in a joint exercise with seven ASEAN navies in the South China Sea, followed by a joint statement with the Philippines urging China to respect international law regarding its territorial claims.
The Indian Navy’s goodwill visits to Southeast Asia and the wider Indo-Pacific region play a vital role in forwarding New Delhi’s foreign policy goals through naval diplomacy. These visits not only fortify India’s maritime alliances but also serve as a strategic tool to project influence, signaling cooperation with allies and a subtle deterrent to rivals, notably China. By making these port calls and participating in joint exercises, India is positioning itself as a key player in the Indo-Pacific, reinforcing its commitment to regional stability and a peaceful, rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific.
