Curtailing China’s Expansionist Forays

What is the issue?

The spectacular rise of China over the past two decades has changed the geopolitical scene across India’s maritime frontiers.
While countering Chinese foray into the Indian Ocean, India needs to embrace a multi-dimensional approach.

How has China deployed its expansionist attitudes?

Beijing’s readiness to deploy its navy coercively to enforce its erratic claims has shaken its entire maritime neighbourhood.
Neighbourhood Issues - Its claims across the South China Sea are spelt out in its unilaterally drawn “Nine Dotted Line”.
This has resulted in tensions with virtually all its neighbours - South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia and Indonesia.
What is worse is that China is even building air bases on artificially constructed islands across the South China Sea to assert itself.
Notably, the very basis of China’s claims have been rejected by a UN tribunal in a judgment on a complaint filed by the Philippines.

Indian Ocean Foray - This Chinese “assertiveness” across the South China Sea is accompanied by its growing naval presence.
It has deployed its Nuclear submarines, across the sea-lanes of the Indian Ocean - from its naval base in Djibouti to across the Malacca Stait.
Noitably, the Indian Ocean Region accounts for 40% of the world’s oil production and 57% of the world’s oil trade.

What are the implications of China’s BRI?

‘Belt and Road Initiative’ is being recognized as Beijing’s strategy to dominate the major sea lanes of the Indo-Pacific.
BRI projects are increasingly seen as unsustainable due to its massive demanding investments that will be funded by Chinese credit.
As most projects are said to be economically unviable, this might result in an eventual distress sale to China.
This would increasingly compromise the sovereignty of the hosts and hand over control of infrastructure to the Chinese.
Srilanka has already started to feel the heat in its Hambantota venture with China.
Pakistani & Myanmari economists have also started questioning the rationale of Chinese investments.

What are the direct challenges to India?

Beijing now claims the entire of Arunachal Pradesh and also large tracts of Ladakh.
Also, China has built a navel monitoring facility and port on Myanmar’s Cocos Islands which is near the Andaman Islands.
China now has a full-fledged military base in Djibouti, and full access to port facilities at Gwadar, in Baluchistan.
It is set to significantly strengthen Pakistan’s navy, providing it 4 frigates and 8 submarines.

How is India’s Maritime policy contrasted with China’s?

India has settled its maritime boundaries with most neighbours - Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Maldives.
Moreover, India has no maritime boundary tensions with Pakistan, though demarcation is possible only after the land boundary is agreed upon.
Notably, India also works closely with the littoral states through the Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation (IOR-ARC).
It is for this reason that India’s maritime behaviour, unlike that of China, has won international praise.

How has India’s Alliances took shape?

India is partnering Japan for economic cooperation and connectivity across its shores to Africa.
During his visits to Seychelles and Mauritius in 2015, Prime Minister Narendra Modi signed a number of maritime agreements.
These included infrastructure and security partnerships and credit assistance for upgrading their navel capacities.
India’s coastal lines of communication across the Indian Ocean are hence being closely monitored now and anti-piracy operations have also intesnified.
A naval conclave was orgainsed in Goa recently, which was attended by senior naval officials of many countires in the region.
Notably, India had offered to provide them with better intelligence on maritime movements across the Indian Ocean.
Adding to these is the various maritime exercises like Malabar (US, Japan & India) and IndRa (India & Russia).

Source: Business Line