The Indian Navy wants to be seen as the sole security provider in the strategic Indian Ocean Region (IOR)

New Delhi: Known as the backbone of the Indian Navy, the P-8I Poseidon maritime reconnaissance planes have been carrying out anti-piracy patrol sorties in Salalah in the Gulf of Aden and other piracy prone areas.

This patrol has been carried out as part of the Navy's mission-based deployments to keep the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) safe.

The P-8I is long-range anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft used for maritime and littoral operations.

To keep all the crucial choke-points in the IOR under constant surveillance New Delhi placed an order for 12 P-8 India maritime surveillance and anti-submarine warfare from the US under a USD 2.2 billion dollar deal in 2012.

Later, India ordered four more planes to carry out extensive surveillance of the Indian Ocean region and the country's exclusive economic zone.

In the past, the aircraft have helped in detecting Chinese nuclear and conventional submarines operating in the Indian Ocean and waters close to India coastline.

By keeping the Chinese Navy in check in its backyard the Indian Navy wants to be seen as the security provider in the Indian Ocean and is doing everything to deter the Chinese Navy from making frequent forays in the IOR.

The Indian Navy is also planning to induct a new aircraft carrier INS Vishal and the construction of the ship is expected to begin in 3 years. The carrier was earlier expected to enter service by 2020s now the date has been postponed to the 2030s.

With the opening of its first overseas military base in Djibouti in the Horn of Africa, the Chinese now have the ability and also the means to keep an eye across the Gulf of Aden and the Persian Gulf.