China's Security Interests in the Indian Ocean

The University of Adelaide Law School Research Unit on Military Law and Ethics published in 2016 a short paper titled "National Security Interests and India [sic] Ocean: China's Perspective" by Senior Colonel Xu Qiyu, deputy director at the Institute for Strategic Studies of China's National Defense University.

Almost 40 percent of China's foreign trade and 80 percent of its imported oil passes through the Indian Ocean coming from Africa and the Middle East. The author emphasizes the growing security importance of the Indian Ocean for China and the need to determine how to protect its security interests without falling into the trap of strategic rivalry with other major powers such as India, the United States, and Australia. Xu Qiyu offers a surprisingly frank analysis of Chinese interests and the possibilities for competition and cooperation with India and the United States.