Reuters published on 13 December 2023 an analysis titled "Why the Indian Ocean Could Be China's Achilles' Heel in a Taiwan War" by Greg Torode.
China has little power projection capability in the Indian Ocean, especially compared to the United States. Much of its crude oil, gas, and mineral imports cross the Indian Ocean. In a wartime situation, China would be hard pressed to keep open these sea lines of communication (SLOCs).
