{"id":3761,"date":"2016-02-11T11:09:17","date_gmt":"2016-02-11T06:09:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jworldtimes.com\/old-site\/jwt2015\/?p=3761"},"modified":"2019-11-18T11:23:42","modified_gmt":"2019-11-18T06:23:42","slug":"competition-in-the-indian-ocean","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jworldtimes.com\/old-site\/css-exclusive\/css-special\/competition-in-the-indian-ocean\/","title":{"rendered":"Competition in the Indian Ocean"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Competition<\/a><\/p>\n

The Indian Ocean is the world\u2019s third largest body of water and has become a growing area of competition between China and India. The two regional powers\u2019 moves to exert influence in the ocean include deep-water port development in littoral states and military patrols. Though the probability of military conflict between China and India remains low, escalated activities (such as port development and military exercises) and rhetoric could endanger stability in a region that is critical for global trade flows.<\/p>\n

Importance of the Indian Ocean<\/span><\/h2>\n

The Indian Ocean covers at least one fifth of the world\u2019s total ocean area and is bounded by Africa and the Arabian Peninsula (known as the western Indian Ocean),\u00a0 India\u2019s coastal waters (the central Indian Ocean), and the Bay of Bengal near Myanmar and Indonesia (the eastern Indian Ocean). It provides critical sea trade routes that connect the Middle East, Africa and South Asia with the broader Asian continent to the east and Europe to the west. A number of the world\u2019s most important strategic chokepoints, including the Straits of Hormuz and Malacca through which 32.2 millions of barrels of crude oil and petroleum transported per day \u2014 more than 50 percent of the world\u2019s maritime oil trade \u2014 are found in the Indian Ocean Region.<\/p>\n

Why It\u2019s a Source of Competition?<\/span><\/h2>\n

China and India are dependent on energy resources transported via the secure sea lanes in the Indian Ocean to fuel their economies. India imports nearly 80 percent of its energy, mostly oil, from the Middle East. As Beijing and New Delhi press to maintain economic growth, their dependency on the safe transport of resources will likely intensify. China\u2019s growing global clout and India\u2019s rapid economic rise have heightened the ocean\u2019s strategic value. Meanwhile, the United States\u2019 rebalance to Asia \u2014 shifting from a foreign policy dominated by the Middle East to one more centered on Asia \u2014 has also been a contributing factor elevating concern over Indian Ocean security. \u00a0<\/p>\n

China vs. India<\/span><\/h2>\n

Both countries have developed initiatives to bolster infrastructure and other connections in the region, which the World Bank describes as among the \u201cleast economically integrated.\u201d The competition is not necessarily overt, but each country is seeking to strengthen ties with smaller regional states to secure their respective security and economic interests.<\/p>\n

Beijing\u2019s regional vision, backed by $40 billion of pledged investment, outlines its One Belt, One Road plan \u2014 combining the revitalization of ancient land-based trade routes, the Silk Road Economic Belt, with a Maritime Silk Road. China\u2019s ties with regional states have deepened, including the influx of Chinese capital into construction projects in Bangladesh, Myanmar, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. China has also undertaken efforts to modernize its military, particularly its naval deployment capabilities to protect overseas interests like personnel, property and investments. China\u2019s ambitions in the region have come to be described by many scholars by the \u201cstring of pearls\u201d metaphor.
\nFor its part, India sees itself as the natural preeminent regional power. Prime Minister Modi has doubled-down on fostering stronger diplomatic, economic and security ties with IOR maritime states as a means to strengthen India\u2019s economy, establish its role as a driver of regional growth and simultaneously diminish China\u2019s growing appeal.<\/p>\n

What fuels China-India Tensions?<\/span><\/h2>\n

China-India tensions have persisted despite overtures by Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Much of the friction stems from a longstanding dispute along a 2,400-mile border in India\u2019s Arunachal Pradesh and China\u2019s Tibet and the legacy of the 1962 Sino-Indian War along the Himalayan border.
\nThe expansion of Chinese presence in the Indian Ocean has heightened India\u2019s concerns. Beijing says its activities are commercially motivated, but Indians think that a ramped up Chinese presence in the Indian Ocean and elsewhere is consistent with Xi Jinping\u2019s intention of making maritime power central to achieving Chinese dominance in Asia.<\/p>\n

Both sides continue to ramp up military capabilities in the ocean region. China continues to deploy greater numbers of naval forces to support counter-piracy operations in the western Indian Ocean, and invests and sells arms, including tanks, frigates, missiles and radar, to India\u2019s neighbours.<\/p>\n

India is also reinforcing its regional maritime presence. It has vowed to spend billions to build up its navy, including anti-submarine capabilities, has sent vessels to visit the South China Sea, and called for freedom of navigation and the peaceful resolution of territorial disputes as part of its Act East policy. The construction of military bases, modernized equipment and fleets, new maritime assets, and the expansion of security ties are all part of New Delhi\u2019s push to assert itself as the region\u2019s leader.<\/p>\n

Transnational Concerns<\/span><\/h2>\n

Despite the rise in competition, multilateral cooperation involving China, India and other states, takes place on issues including piracy, disaster relief and drug smuggling.<\/p>\n

1. Counter-piracy<\/span><\/h3>\n

Counter-piracy efforts near the Gulf of Aden have been the most successful manifestation of regional cooperation. More than eighty countries, organizations and industry groups participate in operations in the IOR under the auspices of the ad hoc, voluntary Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia (CGPCS), created in January 2009 in response to UN Security Council Resolution 1851 on Somali piracy and armed robbery at sea. Since military cooperation began, the volume of attacks has shrunk.<\/p>\n

China and India carry out anti-piracy activities independently, deploying naval vessels to escort merchant ships, provide protection, conduct rescue operations and confiscate contraband.<\/p>\n

2. Search and Rescue<\/span><\/h3>\n

Another recent example of cooperation was the search effort for the Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, which disappeared en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing in March 2014. At the height of operations, twenty-six countries, including China and India, contributed to the search mission.<\/p>\n

3. Disaster Relief<\/span><\/h3>\n

There is room for growth on humanitarian aid and disaster relief cooperation. After the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, governments, including Australia, France, India, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Pakistan, the UK and the United States, participated in extensive relief and rehabilitation efforts.<\/p>\n

4. Fisheries<\/span><\/h3>\n

Consumers in Indo-Pacific countries on average obtain 20 to 50 percent of their animal protein from fish, and industrial fishing is an important export for smaller countries in the IOR. Regional players identify overfishing and environmental degradation as serious risks to sustainable economic development and food security, but mechanisms to establish sustainable fisheries have not been effective.<\/p>\n

Prospects for Improved Regional Governance<\/span><\/h2>\n

There is a growing need for effective regional security architecture, similar to extant mechanisms among major powers in the East and South China seas, to address the IOR\u2019s diverse challenges. Regional multilateral organizations, such as the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS), which facilitates the exchange of military views to enhance communication and transparency across the region\u2019s naval forces, do exist.<\/p>\n

China and India have expressed eagerness to assume greater responsibility in policing maritime global commons and to be recognized as major powers. China\u2019s activities are likely to expand in conjunction with its One Belt, One Road initiative.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Indian Ocean is the world\u2019s third largest body of water and has become a growing area of competition between China and India. The two regional powers\u2019 moves to exert influence in the ocean include deep-water port development in littoral states and military patrols. Though the probability of military conflict between China and India remains …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":87,"featured_media":3762,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[31,3289],"tags":[574,3368,3369,3365,3371,257,8438,1226,3373,3374,3366,3375,2231,1161,3372,3367,3370,8467,8778],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jworldtimes.com\/old-site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3761"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jworldtimes.com\/old-site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jworldtimes.com\/old-site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jworldtimes.com\/old-site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/87"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jworldtimes.com\/old-site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3761"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.jworldtimes.com\/old-site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3761\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25921,"href":"https:\/\/www.jworldtimes.com\/old-site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3761\/revisions\/25921"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jworldtimes.com\/old-site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3762"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jworldtimes.com\/old-site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3761"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jworldtimes.com\/old-site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3761"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jworldtimes.com\/old-site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3761"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}