SINGAPORE: The Indian Navy will participate in the United States-sponsored Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) ``provided the Government decides that it is in consonance with our national interest'' to do so.

In an interview to The Hindu in Singapore on Thursday, Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Arun Prakash said India's initial response to the PSI was ``conditional.'' Under discussion with Washington were New Delhi's ``reservations,'' about the ``mechanics'' of maritime interdictions of vessels suspected to be carrying materials for proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

India was ``not involved or asked'' when some countries got together to ``trigger off this initiative.''

If, however, India were to join it now, ``we would like to be part of the decision-makers in PSI, not a peripheral participant.''

Intelligence sharing

``India's status in world affairs warrants that we should be one of the core countries. In all these initiatives, intelligence sharing is the basic tool. We would not like to intercept any vessel without all the intelligence inputs available.''

While ``it will be a political decision'' whether or not to associate New Delhi with the PSI, the Navy had the ``wherewithal'' and was also ready and willing.

Admiral Prakash was here in connection with the International Maritime Defence Exhibition (IMDEX Asia 2005) and related naval exercises.

Shipping security

He said the security of global shipping along the busy Straits of Malacca in his region ``is the business of the countries which border the Straits.''

While ``we cannot impose ourselves, ... we are always willing to render assistance if asked for.''

"Time for multilateral exercises"

About Singapore Defence Minister Teo Chee Hean's proposal for multilateral maritime exercises by the Association of South East Asian Nations' Regional Forum (ARF) for anti-terror and other purposes, Admiral Prakash said: ``So far, the [Indian] Government policy has been: only bilateral exercises. Perhaps, the time is now coming where we should look at multilateral exercises, to establish mutual confidence and inter-operability.''

India, China and the U.S. are among the major ARF players. Two Indian Navy ships, INS Mysore and INS Tarasa, which came here to participate in the IMDEX show, took part in a related event on Saturday: the inaugural maritime security exercise under the auspices of the Western Pacific Naval Symposium.

The nine participants included Australia and Japan, besides Singapore. China was among the five whose personnel alone participated, without their ships being deployed.

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