Wednesday, August 12, 2020

China-India Competition in the Indian Ocean

 Modern Diplomacy posted on 8 August 2020 an analysis titled "Countering Chinese String of Pearls, India's 'Double Fish Hook' Strategy" by Pankaj Jha, Jindal Global University.  

India is increasingly concerned over China's naval presence in the Indian Ocean, especially following the establishment of Beijing's first military base in Djibouti.  Indian strategists have long argued China is pursuing an encirclement strategy that includes a "string of pearls" in the Indian Ocean, i.e. a number of military facilities across the northern part of the Indian Ocean.

India's has been working to counter this strategy by increasing its own naval support facilities in the Andaman and Nicobar islands in the eastern Indian Ocean and improving security relations with Africa's western Indian Ocean island countries.  It is also increasing cooperation with the United States, which has the strongest navy in the Indian Ocean, and with France, which has overseas departments on Reunion and Mayotte.  The author's new name for this approach is the "double fish hook" strategy.