Stimson published on 20 August 2025 a commentary titled "India Must Level Up to Compete with China in the Western Indian Ocean" by Radhey Tambi.
The author argues that India is falling behind China's influence in the Western Indian Ocean and needs to step up its diplomatic, political, institutional, military, economic, and soft power engagement with the island countries if it intends to compete with Beijing.
The July 2025 issue of Asia Policy contains a book review roundtable of Darshana M. Baruah's book titled The Contest for the Indian Ocean and the Making of a New World Order (Yale University Press 2024). The focus of the book is great power competition and the role of the island countries in the Indian Ocean.
The roundtable consists of the following brief discussions:
--Power Asymmetry and Competition in the Indo-Pacific: The Island States of the Indian Ocean by Frederic Grare.
--Prioritizing the Indian Ocean in the Indo-Pacific by Nilanthi Samaranayake.
--The Agency of Island States in the Geopolitics of the Indian Ocean by Isabelle Saint-Mezard.
--The Island States Have Agency in the Contest for the Indian Ocean--But How? by Pradeep Taneja.
--Opening, Broadening, and Deepening the 'Geo' in the Geoppolitics of the Indian Ocean by Sanjay Chaturvedi.
--Author's Response: Reframing the Indian Ocean Debate by Darshana M. Baruah.
The New York Times published on 15 April 2025 an article titled "State Dept. Expands Plans for Closing Embassies and Consulates" by Karoun Demirjian.
The New York Times has viewed an internal State Department memo that says the Trump administration is considering plans to close 10 embassies and 17 consulates and reduce or consolidate the staff of several other foreign missions. Six of the embassies up for closure are in Africa (Central African Republic, Eritrea, Gambia, Lesotho, the Republic of Congo, and South Sudan) and two in Europe (Luxembourg and Malta) as well as Grenada and the Maldives. Most of the consulates are in Europe.
Comment: If these closures are carried out, China will have wider diplomatic representation globally than the United States. Beijing currently has an embassy in all 54 African countries except Eswatini, which recognizes Taiwan. This puts China ahead of the United States today in Africa. Closing six more US embassies in Africa will leave Washington at a distinct disadvantage. Gambia has the same voting power in the UN General Assembly as the United States or China. For minimal savings, the Trump administration would alienate ten countries. The party goes on in Beijing and Moscow.
The Diplomat published on 14 March 2024 a commentary titled "China and India's Intense Contest for Influence" by Jabin T. Jacob, Shiv Nadar University.
India has been closely watching Chinese actions in the Indian Ocean in island countries such as Maldives and Mauritius and has responded strongly in cases where its security was directly affected.
The Associated Press published on 1 February 2024 an article titled "India Begins to Flex Its Naval Power as Competition with China Grows" by Aljaz Hussain.
India is sending a message that the Indian Ocean is its backyard and signaling China that it plans to assume wider naval responsibility in the region, including the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.
The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) published on 2 June 2023 a paper titled "The State of Defence Cooperation in the Indian Ocean Region" by Antoine Levesques and Viraj Solanki.
Looking to the early June IISS Shangri-La Dialogue, the authors noted the increased tempo of defense cooperation initiatives in the Indian Ocean region as relations between Bejing and New Delhi became more conflictual beginning in May 2020 in the aftermath of border clashes that led to a zero-sum mentality. India thus turned to the US-aligned Quad to bolster its regional strategy while China took a series of tangible steps in the Indian Ocean region to improve its security presence.
The China-Africa Research Initiative published in April 2023 a study titled "Integrating China into Multilateral Debt Relief: Progress and Problems in the G20 DSSI" by Deborah Brautigam and Yufan Huang.
The study evaluates China's participation in a major multilateral experiment in sovereign debt management: the G-20s COVID-19 Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI). The authors argue, with some caveats, that the DSSI was a success.
First, it succeeded in providing a pathway for China, the world's largest bilateral creditor, to negotiate debt treatments together with the Paris Club in the Common Framework. Second, China fulfilled its role fairly well as a responsible G-20 stakeholder. Finally, the DSSI pushed the Chinese government to align interests among fragmented banks and bureaucracies with conflicting goals.
