Indian Defence Review

Conclusion

The underpinnings of China-India maritime-strategic rivalry are not difficult to discern. China’s approach is clearly driven by strong strategic imperatives in the in the Indian Ocean Region, which would necessitate fielding of its military power projection capabilities into Indian Ocean in the coming decades. However, given the competitive and even adversarial potential of China-India relations, in these waters, it expects to find itself pitted against India’s potent naval power, possibly even in concert with the US.

Indias strategic “˜footprint in the maritime space adjoining Southeast Asia has been more discernable through its navys politico-diplomatic role as an instrument of foreign policy.

For India on the other hand, it is critically important to balance China’s rising power. By not doing so, India’s own increasingly eminent role as a regional power would be dwarfed. This would also have serious ramifications for India’s supreme national security interests. For example, this would make it impossible for New Delhi to negotiate the border dispute on equal terms with Beijing.

India’s strategic ‘footprint’ in the maritime space adjoining Southeast Asia has been more discernable through its navy’s politico-diplomatic role as an instrument of foreign policy. On the other hand, China has largely restrained its naval interactions with Southeast Asia, indicating that it wants to keep its military options open to settle its lingering maritime-territorial disputes. Instead, it has been resorting to establishing geo-political influence through use of all other facets of its national power, such as economic, defence-sales, and so on. This would enable Beijing to buy time until it satiates its foremost strategic objective in terms of Taiwan, and at the same time, lay the foundations for its military power-projection southwards, and eventually into the Indian Ocean.

Notes

1. Annual Report 2005-06, Ministry of External Affairs,Government of India, p. 12
2. Indrani Bagchi, ‘China eyeing base’, Times of India,9 August 2008, p. 13
3. ‘Myanmar, India finalizing River Transportation Project’, Xinhua, 28 August 2007, FBIS/ World News Connection at http://wnc.dialog.com/
4. The 30-year MoU to supply gas to China from 2009 onwards was signed June 2008.
5. Prasun Sengupta,’Looking East’,Force,11 May 2007
6. About 30% of India’stradetransits the Malacca Straits. This proportion is increasing.
7. Zhang Xuegang, ‘Southeast Asia and Energy: Gateway to Stability’, China Security,Vol 3(2), Spring 2007, p. 21
8. Annual Report 2003-04, Ministry of Defence, Govt. of India, p. 26
9. ‘PLA Navy Fleet Conducts Anti-pirate Exercises at MalaccaStraits’, People’s Daily, 29 May 2002, at
10. http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200205/29/eng20020529_96696.shtml See, ‘PRC Defence Minister Chi Haotian Meets Malaysian
11. Armed Forces Chief’, Xinhua, 8 June 2000; ‘China, Malaysia To Further Ties Between Armed Forces’ Xinhua, 2 September 2005; ‘China, Malaysia To Step Up Defence Cooperation’,Xinhua, 26 May 2006; Andrei Chang and Khoo Jin Kiat, ‘Malaysia Considers Importing HY6 Ground to Air Missiles’, Kanwa Defence Review, 31 July 2007, FBIS/ World News Connection at http://wnc.dialog.com/
12. ‘Southeast Asia Need Not Fear China’s Economic, MilitaryPower: Malaysian PM’, Hong Kong AFP, 18 September 2003, FBIS/ World News Connection at http://wnc.dialog.com/‘Viraat to Showcase India’s Might’,Deccan Herald, 15 July2005,FBIS/ World News Connection at http://wnc.dialog.com/
13. ‘China’s Aid to Tsunami Victims Sets Record: Official’, Gov.cn (Chinese government’s official web portal), January 18,2006, at http://www.gov.cn/misc/2006-01/18/content 162616.htm
14. ‘China-proposed new security idea at ARF worries US,West’, The Nation, 12 August 2002, FBIS/ World News Connection at http://wnc.dialog.com/
15. ‘China, Philippines, Vietnam Sign Joint South China Sea Survey Accord’, AFP, 14 March 2005,FBIS/ World News Connection at http://wnc.dialog.com/
16. For details, see Jeff Chen and Andrei Chag, ‘Deterrence Capability of Vietnam Against Hainan Island’, Kanwa Asian Defence Review, 12 August 2008, FBIS/ World News Connection at http://wnc.dialog.com/
17. Anupama Airy, ‘ONGC’s Vietnam foray illegal, says China’, The Financial Express, 2 December 2007, at http://www.financialexpress.com/news/ONGCs-Vietnam foray-illegal-says-China/246000/
18. Craig Smith, ‘China Reshaping Military to Toughen its Muscle in the Region’, New York Times, 16 October 2002, cited in Amitav Acharya, ‘Seeking Security in the Dragon’s Shadow: China and Southeast Asia in the Emerging Asian Order’, IDSS (Singapore) Paper No. 44, March 2003, pp.1213
19. Andrei Chang, ‘South East Asian Countries Concerned About Expansion of PLA South Sea Fleet’, Kanwa Asian Defence Review, 2 July 2008, FBIS/ World News Connection at http://wnc.dialog.com/
20.  Amitav Acharya, ‘Seeking Security in the Dragon’s Shadow: China and Southeast Asia in the Emerging Asian Order’, IDSS (Singapore) Paper No. 44, March 2003, p. 20
21. ‘China Objects to Indian Navy’s Presence in South China Sea’,Indian Express, 14 October 2000, FBIS-SAP20001014000051.
22. Based on author’s interaction with PLA Colonel Pan Zheng during a seminar on “Energy Security”conducted by SAWCCAD at Sichuan University, Chengdu (China) in June2005.
23. Interview with Dr You Ji, Universityof New Sout Wales, 12 August 2008 (Dr You Ji is a Chinese origin expert on thePLA Navy).
24. “Freedom to use the seas: India’s Maritime Military Strategy”, Integrated HQ MoD (Navy), May 2007,pp.61-65.
25. “Freedom to use the seas: India’s Maritime Military Strategy”, Integrated HQ MoD (Navy), May 2007, p.77.