Indian navy chief says Chinese build-up a 'major concern'

India's navy chief said on Monday that Beijing's growing maritime strength was a "major, major cause for concern" and pledged to support a state energy firm in its contentious search for oil in the South China Sea.

Admiral D.K. Joshi told journalists that China's push to upgrade its navy was "truly impressive" and said that India had to adapt its own strategy accordingly.

"It is actually a major, major cause of concern for us, which we continuously evaluate and work out our options and our strategies for," Joshi said.

"The modernisation is truly impressive," Joshi added.

China, which put its first aircraft carrier into service in September, has been locked in a series of disputes over strategic islands in the region, including with Vietnam and the Philippines over territory in the South China Sea.

India signed a pact with Vietnam in October last year to expand oil exploration in the South China Sea.

Although Beijing has urged New Delhi not to push ahead with the project for the sake of "peace and stability", Joshi said that the Indian navy was ready to support state energy firm ONGC and had carried out exercises in preparation.

"In certain sectors ONGC Videsh has certain interests. It has energy exploration blocks, three in number, and since it is an area of Indian interest the Indian Navy, should there be a need, would stand by," Joshi said referring to the firm's international subsidiary.

"Not that we expect to be in those waters very, very frequently, but when the requirement is there for situations where the country's interests are involved, for example ONGC Videsh, we will be required to go there and we are prepared for that.

"Are we holding exercises for that nature? The short answer is 'yes'".

The admiral also argued that disputes over freedom of navigation within the South China Sea must be resolved in line with international treaties.

"Not only us, but everyone is of the view that they have to be resolved by the parties concerned, aligned with the international regime, which is outlined in UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea), that is our first requirement," he said.

New Delhi is also wary of growing Chinese influence around the Indian Ocean, where Beijing has funded or plans to invest in major infrastructure projects, including ports in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and military-ruled Myanmar.

China's military budget officially reached $106 billion in 2012, an 11.2 percent increase.

According to a report issued by the Pentagon in May, Beijing is pouring money into advanced air defences, submarines, anti-satellite weapons and anti-ship missiles that could all be used to deny an adversary access to strategic areas, such as the South China Sea.

At a key Communist Party congress earlier this month, outgoing President Hu Jintao urged China to push forward fast-paced military modernisation and set the goal of becoming a "maritime power".

India and China fought a brief border war in 1962 and still have unresolved territorial disputes.

Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.