In exercise Tiger Triumph, the U.S. Marine Corps and Indian armed forces are launching a joint humanitarian relief training mission. But the real intent here seems to be perfecting the ability to launch a joint amphibious assault. And China must be viewed as the motive for this training.
As the Hindu reports, the 9-day exercise off India’s eastern coast will involve “staff planning events as well as field training that simulates moving a humanitarian assistance/disaster relief force from ship to shore.” U.S. officials have been keen to emphasize the humanitarian angle here, likely to avoid aggravating China or embarrassing Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has sought to maintain friendly relations with Beijing even as he strengthens New Delhi’s partnership with Washington.
Yet read between the lines, and you end up with this exercise being much more combat-orientated than it first appears.
First off, consider the strategic context. India is increasingly concerned about China’s close relationship with Pakistan, including the development of a deep water port and its military incursions into the Indian Ocean. This has seen India invest increasingly heavily in more advanced naval intelligence and war-fighting capabilities. New Delhi has also made it easier for its military to buy American military equipment. In tandem, the United States is concerned with China’s imperialist seizure of vast areas of the South China Sea. With President Trump and Modi forging new agreements and stronger relations, we’re seeing a deeper strategic partnership.
Now let’s focus on the specifics of this particular exercise.
While the U.S. Marines are the sole U.S. service involved here, India is deploying elements from its army, air force, and navy. While it is possible for all those elements to be employed in a humanitarian operation, it is unlikely unless the operation is domestic in nature. But the real point of note is what the exercise is actually focused on: staff planning and simulated movement from ship to shore.
That is textbook U.S. Marine Corps lingo for amphibious assault operations. And the beauty of this kind of humanitarian exercise is that the requirements involved are very similar to those in an amphibious assault exercise.
Consider the language given to the Hindu’s reporters. “Staff planning” translates as intelligence, logistics, operational planning activity in advance of an operation, humanitarian or combat. And “ship to shore” movement is the keystone for conducting a successful amphibious assault.
But the basic point is that if you can get a joint U.S.-India military humanitarian relief force onto shore, operational, and sustainable, then you can get an amphibious assault force in action.
The final clue is that the Marines are leading the exercise. The U.S. Marines are the world’s finest amphibious assault force. Marine Expeditionary Units, formed of 2,200 Marines each, match a ground assault force with armor, intelligence and logistics units, and helicopter and jet fast attack aircraft. MEUs are expected to be ready for combat deployment within six hours of a warning order for action.
While the Marine unit deployed as part of Tiger Triumph does not appear to be MEU-centered, all Marines are schooled in the art of amphibious assault.
When you read between the lines here, this exercise is far more interesting than it first appears. And we should welcome the idea. India is the world’s most populous democracy and the most prospectively powerful American partner in defending rules-based international order in the 21st century. China and Russia are teaming up on behalf of kleptocratic authoritarianism. It’s only right that we do the same in defense of democracy and prosperity.
