THE NETHERLANDS and India can collaborate to protect India’s underwater infrastructure, such as cables and pipelines, to enhance situational awareness of seabed activities, Major General (Royal Marines) Rob De Wit, Deputy Commander of the Royal Netherlands Navy, told The Indian Express in an interview.
He said both India and the Netherlands are exploring more opportunities for defence cooperation, and the Netherlands is willing to share details about unmanned systems with India, as it is making significant investments in this area.
Major General De Wit was in India as part of a delegation, including Marisa Gerards, Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, along with the visit of the Royal Netherlands Navy Ship HNLMS De Ruyter (F804), a De Zeven Provinciën-class frigate, in Kochi earlier this month.
In December last year, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh met the Netherlands Foreign Minister David Van Weel when a Letter of Intent on Defence Cooperation was exchanged between the two countries. A statement issued by the Ministry of Defence then stated that both countries intend to explore the possibilities of defence cooperation in identified areas for the mutual benefit by developing a Defence Industrial Roadmap for technology collaboration, co-production and co-development of platforms and equipment.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is on a five-nation trip, is scheduled to visit the Netherlands after the UAE.
Major General De Wit said that wars nowadays are being fought from a great distance and at the same time using unmanned systems. “And you see it quite a lot in the air, but also in the maritime domain, we see the surface unmanned systems and also underwater unmanned systems and seabed unmanned systems. So, the future of warfare, as well, at sea, in the air, and then on land, is with unmanned systems,” he said.
He said one of the main things the Netherlands is doing now is to invest in all those unmanned systems, especially within the Navy. “…that might be beneficial for India, that’s something we have to offer,” he said.
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He further said that both sides can exchange information to protect critical underwater infrastructure, such as cables and pipelines.
“It’s coming into your country, but it’s going in from the sea and the ocean, and you do not always know what’s happening over there, so you have to build up situational awareness and situational understanding of what’s happening on the seabed,” he said.
Responding to questions on expanding cooperation in defence between the Netherlands and India, he said that for the Letter of Intent on defence, there are multiple opportunities for cooperation. “And one of the things is that we are going to plan on the Joint Staff talks and to explore further where we can do more things together,” he said, adding that India is quite good when it comes to certain trainings, including good simulators, and at the same time, the Netherlands also has several things to offer.
Responding to questions on the Netherlands’ views of a free and open Indo-Pacific and the volatile situation at the Strait of Hormuz, Major General De Wit said the Netherlands is a maritime trading nation, so it’s important to keep the sea lines of communication open.
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He said that is why the Dutch government decided to have a naval ship every two years in the Indo-Pacific as well. “Because there are quite a lot of sea lines of communication here that are important, not only for this region, but it has an influence on the Netherlands as well, for our economy, stability and prosperity.”
“And the same goes for the other way around, for India, when it comes to all the sea lines of communication. So, we like to have them open.”
“We are in constant competition… So that’s not how it is for India, but especially for the Netherlands, that’s a new reality, because we are almost used to peace and then, well, that’s not anymore..,” he said.
In 2022, the Netherlands Navy had its first frigate in India as part of the Indo-Pacific deployment, and the first port call was in Mumbai.
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As part of the ongoing engagements with the Indian Navy, there has been an insight into how both countries train their personnel on their ships. “We will most likely use the Joint Staff talks to come to more concrete plans for the near future. For now, I think it was fruitful discussions, and we see a lot of opportunities,” he said.
Major General De Wit said that the sea lines of communication are important and should be kept open, but Hormuz is not open at the moment, so that is a challenge, adding that more than 40 nations, including the Netherlands, are currently planning a multinational maritime mission to restore navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, which has been blocked by Iranian-backed actions.
“I know there is a lot of planning being done, and I am not going to say anything about how that’s looking at the moment, and yet, we are working on options which we will present to the Dutch government, and they will decide. But we have been a very first group to start the planning because, keeping sea lines of communication open is vital for the Dutch economy, and therefore for the European economy as well,” he said.
“We support the international rule-based order. And in that case, we support UNCLOS III, and that means we have freedom of navigation (through various sea zones). And I think the way China is looking at that is not the same as the Netherlands.”
