Chinese and Indian Competition for Influence in the Indian Ocean

 Bloomberg posted on 23 June 2025 a 12-minute video titled "How China Is Beating India in Its Own Backyard."

This is a balanced documentary about Indian and Chinese efforts to expand their security and economic influence in the Indian Ocean region.  It pays particular attention to the role of the Indian Ocean island nation of Mauritius and the UK/US military base in Diego Garcia.

China's Power Play in the Indian Ocean

 Bloomberg posted on 14 June 2025 a 12-minute video titled "China's Power Play in the Indian Ocean."

The focus of the video is on growing India-China competition in the Indian Ocean.  The dramatic expansion of Chinese military power in the region is seen as threatening to India.  It comes at a time when the United States is reducing its influence in the region.  

The Importance of Diego Garcia to US Strategy in the Indian Ocean

 The Foreign Policy Research Institute published on 21 April 2025 an analysis titled "How the UK-Mauritius Deal on Chagos Could Reshape US Military Strategy in the Indian Ocean" by Raghvendra Kumar.  

Diego Garcia hosts a joint Anglo-American military base with a deepwater port capable of berthing aircraft carriers, a long runway that enables deep-strike operations and accommodates heavy bombers and refueling aircraft, advanced satellite communication facilities, and strategically pre-positioned military support and supplies.

The Diego Garcia base, which most recently has been used to launch airstrikes against Houthi targets in Yemen, remains critical to US military strategy in the Indian Ocean.  It provides the strategic depth necessary to deter aggression, defend US interests, restore freedom of navigation, and secure vital sea lines of communication.   It takes on added importance as China expands its military footprint in the Indian Ocean region.  

US Airstrikes on Houthis Continue and Houthis Continue to Fire Back

 Stars & Stripes published on 2 April 2025 an article titled "Suspected US Airstrikes in Yemen Kill at Least 4 People Near Hodeida, Houthi Rebels Say" by Jon Gambrell.

US airstrikes on Houthi rebels in Yemen are continuing and additional air assets, including B-2 bombers, are being moved into the region.  While no US warship has been struck, the U.S. Navy "has described the Houthi fire as the most intense combat its sailors have faced since World War II."

Comment:  This situation continues to raise the question whether the Houthi drone and missile attacks can be defeated by airstrikes alone.  

Indian Ocean Security and US Strategy

 The East-West Center published on 18 October 2024 a bulletin titled "Connecting West and East: Indian Ocean Security and the US Indo-Pacific Strategy" by Nilanthi Samaranayake.  

Washington appears to be increasingly recognizing the importance of the western Indian Ocean, suggesting that it may be starting to conceive of the Indian Ocean as a region on its own terms.  

China's Indian Ocean Vulnerability in Wartime Scenario

 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).  

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: Combining Soft Power and Hard Power in Africa

 MES Insights, which partners with the Marine Corps University Press, published in June 2023 an analysis titled "China's Engagement in Africa: Security Initiatives and United Nations Voting" by Daniel Rice.   

The author concludes that China's ultimate goal in Africa is to increase its global influence by shaping the international conditions necessary for its rise on the global stage.  China's influence in Africa is demonstrating tangible results for Communist Party of China in the form of voting patterns in the United Nations.  

India in the Western Indian Ocean

The Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative published on 20 April 2018 an analysis titled "Islands as Game Changers in the Indian Ocean" by Darshana M. Baruah, research analyst at Carnegie India.

The author concludes that although India has traditional ties with most of the island states in the Indian Ocean region, it has failed to leverage its strategic advantages. India's military strengths lie in the northern and eastern Indian Ocean; it has operational limitations in the western Indian Ocean where it is trying to improve its position in Seychelles and Mauritius.

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.