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View all search resultsUnderstanding tug of war between India and China in IOR
While India believes in capability building, China has so far focused on capacity building with profits siphoned back into its economy.
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I
ndia and China are both emerging powers of Asia and the world. The two nations are in territorial disputes but have managed to cooperate in numerous areas of mutual interest, such as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).
Their spheres of influence should be logically different due to their geographical locations. With both Asian giants trying to exert supremacy in the Indian Ocean due to their need to protect their sea lines of communication, multiple overlapping interests have emerged over the years. These overlapping interests have resulted in a tug of war between them, affecting the delicate security balance in the region.
While India believes in capability building, China has so far focused on capacity building with profits siphoned back into its economy.
As India sits in the Indian Ocean, it has so far enjoyed a continual patronage in this region. However, with the Indian Ocean Rim (IOR) becoming a major trade route that supports transportation of energy and resources (both living and non-living) for China’s growth and development, the country has shown increasing interest in the IOR. These interests include activities to realize infrastructure development.
These events and China’s involvement in the IOR, when seen in isolation, may not seem alarming in nature. However, when seen holistically, they paint a picture of China encircling India with a “String of Pearls” strategy.
On one hand, while India has a strategic hold on the Malacca Strait and can choke supplies to China, China has created commercial alternates in the form of Gwadar in Pakistan and Kyankpyn in Myanmar, which can be used as military facilities when needed. Similarly, using financial diplomacy, China has developed other commercial ports at Chittagong in Bangladesh and Humbantota in Sri Lanka.
In return, India has encouraged and financially supported the development of the Kaladan multi-modal transit transportation project in Myanmar, various power and rail projects in Bangladesh, the development of the eastern terminal of Colombo Port in Sri Lanka and the development of Chabahar Port in Iran. In addition, India is using diplomacy with countries like Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Mauritius and ASEAN nations to counter the growing dominance of China in the IOR.
