Cabinet Committee On Security News

As the disputed South China Sea heats up around the world, the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) of India has Okayed a plan to virtually keep an eye on shipping in the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea, reports Tribune News Service. It is an act that is clearly aimed at monitoring the Chinese shipping of oil and gas, without saying so, adds the report. The CCS, which is headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved a plan to collate shipping information from 24 countries located as far and wide as those on African East Coast that is the Indian Ocean to the South China Sea, where five countries are locked in bitter territorial dispute with China. Beijing is not one of the countries on the 24-country grouping.

India's government has cleared a $8 billion plan to build the country's most advanced warships, defence sources said, just months after ordering new submarines to close the gap with the Chinese navy in the Indian Ocean. Since taking over last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has signalled his resolve to build a strong military after years of neglect that military planners say has left India unable to fight a two-front war against China and Pakistan. India's navy has been rattled in recent months after Chinese submarines docked in Sri Lanka, just off its southern coast, underlining the growing reach of the Chinese navy after years of staying closer to its shores.

According to a Jan. 5 report from the Emirates News Agency, India has signed a $2.2b deal for eight Boeing P8I Multi-mission Maritime Aircraft (MMA) to strengthen its coastal and maritime interests. The Indian government's Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) cleared the two year proposal for the Indian Navy along with several other measures to strengthen naval and Indian Coast Guard (ICG) capabilities in the wake of the terrorist attacks on India's commercial capital of Mumbai. (Source: Emirates News Agency)