An Indian Ocean dilemma: Sino-Indian rivalry and China's strategic vulnerability in the Indian Ocean

Abstract

This paper looks at the key strategic issues faced by China in the Indian Ocean within the context of growing Sino-Indian rivalry. It makes two basic arguments: first, that China has considerable strategic disadvantages in the Indian Ocean as compared with India; and second, that India has had more success than China in developing security relationships in the region. These propositions differ from a more common narrative, according to which China is establishing security relationships throughout the region that seriously threaten India. This paper argues that, on the contrary, China faces a strategic dilemma right across the Indian Ocean that it will only be able to partially mitigate in the short to medium term. Perhaps we should be asking how China's strategic vulnerability should be best managed.

A Review of China-India Geopolitical Relations in the Context of Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)

“…Due to its geographical proximity to the Strait of Malacca, Myanmar enables China to export its goods directly through its own territory. China and Myanmar have a close economic, political and arms supply relationship [24]. China and Myanmar have an increasing military cooperation since 1988 [25].…”

“…China has already started to construct highways and rail networks connecting Yunnan of South China and several ports in the Myanmar"s costal area which are linked to the Bay of Bengal. In 1992, Beijing pledged that China would provide great assistance for the modernization of the marine facilities in Myanmar, including the Hianggyi Island and the Coco Islands [24,19].…”

“…The oil and gas pipelines between the new deep-water port of Kyaukpyu in Myanmar and China"s southern Yunnan province for transporting gas from Myanmar"s offshore gas fields, and oil which is shipped from the Middle East have a significant role for China [24,19]. And the construction of a railway between Kunming and Lashio are other Chinese attempts in Myanmar to enhance bilateral economic relations [26].…”

Environmental policy and climate change vulnerability in the Maldives: from the ‘lexicon of risk’ to social response to change

“…Notably, international consensus concerning the role of these agencies is one of the drivers of contemporary environmental policies across the region. Furthermore, we cannot overlook the fact that, due to its geographical location (Figure 3), the archipelago plays a geostrategic function within the regional chessboard, in particular, in the context of Sino-Indian rivalry, recently defined by Brewster (2015) as 'the' Indian Ocean dilemma.…”

Pirates, Drugs and Navies

“…34 India has long seen the Indian Ocean as its 'backyard' and is currently strengthening its militarya nd security cooperation with regional states andislands. 35 Britain and France, former colonial powers in the Western Indian Ocean,h ave long maintainedm ilitaryb ases and navalf orcesi nt he region. TheU SN avy continues to leadam ultinational naval missiont ofi ghtt errorism in ther egion.…”