India and China compete for regional supremacy in the Indian Ocean
(Baonghean.vn)- The competition between two long-standing rivals China and India is spreading across the Indian Ocean.
From Tanzania to Sri Lanka, these two Asian heavyweights are working to establish a stronger military and economic presence in countries across the Indian Ocean, with the goal of gaining regional dominance.
China, the world's second-largest economy, is seeking to build what some policy experts call a "String of Pearls" strategy, with ambitions to link the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean.
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| A Chinese naval ship in the western Indian Ocean. Photo: Getty |
In 2016, Beijing unveiled plans to establish its first overseas military base in Djibouti. A number of business ventures funded by Chinese state-owned enterprises under President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative, including a port in Tanzania, have bolstered those efforts.
Meanwhile, New Delhi, unnerved by concerns that Beijing is dominating its backyard, is retaliating. During a visit to Oman last month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was granted access to naval facilities in the Middle Eastern country near the Strait of Hormuz.
“It seems like we are in a race to build up bases across the Indian Ocean,” said David Brewster, an expert at the Australian National University.
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| Indian Prime Minister Narenda Modi (left) meets Oman's Sultan Qaboos bin Said during his recent visit. Photo: AP |
In addition, commercial projects invested by Chinese and Indian companies may also have military purposes. An Indian think tank said that diplomatic officials from both countries “believe that the Hambantota port in Sri Lanka will become a Chinese military and naval base, a second Djibouti.”
The Maldives and Myanmar, two countries that have received investment from Beijing, are also seen as potential areas for the Chinese military to target. “The possibility of India using the Chabahar deep-water port in Iran for military purposes in the future cannot be ruled out,” Brewster said.
The Indian Ocean has also become a hotbed for weapons technology. Beijing plans to deploy a sea-based missile defense system there. Analysts say New Delhi’s offer to buy US drones is aimed at monitoring Chinese activities in the sea./.