China-India Competition in the Indian Ocean as Seen by Vietnamese Scholars

 The Journal of Liberty and International Affairs published in July 2023 an article titled "Competition of Strategy between China and India in the Indian Ocean Nowadays" by Tran Hoang Long, Tran Thi Hai Yen, Huynh Trong Hien, and Tran Xuan Hiep.   

The four Vietnamese scholars conclude that China has advantages in the Indian Ocean region, although its presence raises may doubts about its political and military goals.  In the face of competition with China, India has become more flexible and responsive in its Indian Ocean policies as witnessed by its relations with the Maldives and Sri Lanka.  The competition between India and China presents opportunities and challenges for coastal states in the Indian Ocean region.  The competition may also result in a race for military power in the region.  

China's Indian Ocean Power Projection

The European Union Institute for Security Studies published in July 2018 an analysis titled "Along the Road: Gwadar and China's Power Projection" by Frederic Grare, a visiting scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

The analysis looks at the reasons why the China Overseas Ports Holding Company has taken over the management of Pakistan's Gwadar port. The author concludes that it has less to do with the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and more to do with future use by PLA Navy ships that would give China anti access/area denial capabilities in the waters adjacent to the Strait of Hormuz. It should also be seen in connection with the new Chinese military base in Djibouti in the Horn of Africa.

China Expands Marine Corps to Deploy in Locations Such as Djibouti

The South China Morning Post published on 13 March 2017 an article titled "As Overseas Ambitions Expand, China Plans 400 Per Cent Increase to Marine Corps Numbers, Sources Say" by Minnie Chan.

The article says China plans to increase the size of its Marine Corps from about 20,000 to 100,000 personnel to protect the nation's maritime lifelines and its growing interests overseas. Some of these personnel will be stationed at ports China will operate in Djibouti in the Horn of Africa and Gwadar in southwest Pakistan. One analyst suggests these forces could help maintain security for China's "One Belt, One Road" initiative.