India wary of China's nuclear aircraft carrier plan

China's plan to build a nuclear aircraft carrier using existing submarine reactors has rung alarm bells in India.

China's first aircraft carrier.Photo: AP

New Delhiconcerns that these warships could be used to patrol the Indian Ocean - an area up to 2,500km from the Chinese coast. Is China flexing its muscles in India's strategic space and how will India react?New Delhiwhat will happen

Information on the website of the China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation "stormed" the Internet when it said that the country's largest shipyard would build a nuclear aircraft carrier with reactors that could rely on existing submarine reactors. In just a few days, this information was removed from the website, but it was enough for the Indian Navy to predict that China plans to increase its strategic and long-term presence in the Indian Ocean thousands of kilometers away from its shores.

Predictions became clearer in 2008 when a submarine base began operations on Hainan Island.Male, China is close to the Strait of Malacca. In recent months, there have been many reports that Beijing is pushingMaldivesallowing the presence of a submarine base. Then there is the Chinese airport project at Hambantota in Sri Lanka and more recently the Gwadar port in Pakistan which has been dredged to a depth of 14m to allow large ships to dock.

“These are places with great potential, and whether they become bases or not is a big step, because it means accepting a confrontation with India by facilitating a Chinese base. From this perspective, the best option is to focus on Gwadar,” said retired Indian Rear Admiral Raja Menon.

“As a regional naval power, India has a huge advantage due to its proximity to the Indian Ocean Region, but India cannot claim ownership of the region because the world’s third largest ocean has always had open maritime principles,” said Dr. Sreekanth Kondapalli, a Chinese naval analyst.

India should build its own nuclear aircraft carriers and counter China in its eastern and southern seas, naval strategists say. It should also form alliances with the Japanese and South Korean navies to counter China's navy.

A maritime dialogue between the Indian and Chinese navies on the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea could be a useful confidence-building measure. However, China would not like this. While Beijing does not consider the Indian Ocean as Indian waters, China’s recent actions clearly demonstrate that it considers the South China Sea as its own.

According to Vietnamnet-M