Navy deepens watch to check China ambitions

INDIAN OCEAN Officer says ‘inevitable’ Beijing will enter region if it aims to be a global power

NEW DELHI: The Indian Navy has stepped up surveillance and activities in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR), which, it believes, China will “inevitably” try to enter in its quest to become a global power, just as it has laid claim to large portions of the disputed South China Sea, according to a top officer aware of the developments.

It is to deal with this scenario that India reached out to neighbours in IOR — Maldives, Mauritius, Seychelles and Madagascar, to prevent China from expanding its footprint in the region by creating more bases — and likeminded navies, such as those of the United States and Japan, over the last two months, he added.

“It is inevitable that the Chinese People’s Liberation Armynavy (PLAN) will come to IOR if China wants to become a global power. They are opening multiple routes to the Indian Ocean to overcome the Malacca Dilemma (China’s strategic weakness),” the officer said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

The comments come at a time when there are heightened military tensions in eastern Ladakh — where Indian and Chinese forces are locked in a tense border confrontation and disengagement along the Line of Actual

Control (LAC) has turned out to be a challenging process — and China is militarising the South China Sea.

The Malacca Dilemma refers to China’s apprehension of major naval powers controlling the Malacca Strait between Malaysia and Indonesia and interdicting vital supply lines. A significant volume (more than 80%) of China’s oil imports pass through the strait connecting the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea.

The multiple routes that China could be looking at to enter the Indian Ocean are further south of Malacca and include the Sunda, Lombok, Ombai and Wetar straits, said a second Indian Navy officer who asked not to be named. “It’s a reality that the PLAN will deploy in the Indian Ocean once its power crosses a certain threshold. Right now, it’s good enough for the South China Sea,” said Admiral Arun Prakash (retd), a former navy chief.

India is keeping tabs on China’s aggressive moves in the

South China Sea and taking steps to ensure that the Chinese navy doesn’t muscle its way into the Indian Ocean where combatready Indian warships are carrying out round-the-clock surveillance for any unusual activity, said the first officer.

Over the last one month, the navy has conducted joint drills with a US Navy carrier strike group, led by USS Nimitz.