>
> Steven L. Robinson wrote:
>
> > This is news to me. I had no idea that the
> > Indian Navy was acquiring aircraft carriers.
> > The US uses aircraft carriers, typically,
> > when it wants to project military power a
> > long way from home (like the Persian Gulf or
> > Southeast Asia). Certainly, India has as
> > much right to carriers as the US or Russia,
> > but the question must follow: Where would
> > India be using them?
>
> Wikipedia article on aircraft carrier Vikrant
> provides the background:
>
> INS Vikrant
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/INS_Vikrant
>
> There is already a US naval base at Diego
> Garcia. Russian and Chinese Navies would
> arrive in Indian Ocean sooner or later. Oil
> tankers move through Arabian sea and Indian
> ocean towards Japan, China, Korea and Europe.
> That's one reason why India needs strong navy.
Look at a map of Pakistan and see why India wants carriers.
Yours WDK - WKiernan at gmail.com