Does South China Sea Dispute affects India?

 

Aerial View of a Chinese Artificial Island

 

China is tightening its grip in the South China Sea and beefing up its military capabilities by deliberately investing in artificial islands at the core of its regional economic influence. They are committed to try every unethical way possible to make the world agree on their terms on behalf of the “Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)” policy. The EEZ allows and grants full freedom of the coastal water and seabed within the 200 mile distance of a country’s coastline. By establishing artificial islands in the region, they are able to claim the 200 mile portion as their territory.

 

South China Sea (SCS) being 3,780 kilometres away from India’s coastline would not have mattered much for India but when we consider the 55% trade via the routes of SCS, it becomes absolutely important for India to contain Chinese aggression. The SCS region consists of countries which are not able to defend themselves from the military and economic might of China, and therefore its India’s duty as a member of “Indian Ocean Rim Association”, which is responsible for the maintenance of peace and tranquillity in the region, to protect the sovereignty of these smaller nations.

And that’s where India’s Iron Curtails comes into action. Under look east Asia policy, the Indian diplomats have been able to convince the ASEAN countries to allow Indian investments in the region and also receive the naval assistance for their protection. India has successfully installed the Satellite Monitoring Station in Vietnam. ISRO has also linked it to their recent establishments in Indonesia, Brunei and other nations residing in SCS.

 

This system allows flexibility in intelligence sharing capabilities and gives India an edge in intelligence and cyber warfare over China. India has also been able to sign important diplomatic and strategic deals with countries trying to counter China and has military presence in SCS.

Logistic Deal Agreement under “Logistic Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMoA)”, with USA.

“Agreement for the Provision of Reciprocal Logistics Support”, with France.

“Implementing Arrangement Concerning Mutual Coordination Logistics and Services Support”, with Singapore.

“Agreement to Extend Logistic Support to Each Other’s Navy”, with South Korea.

These deals have leveraged India with its strong presence in Indian Ocean to rightfully pinpoint and counter China in the South China Sea as well.

 

Recent developments in the world of geopolitics and eco-politics have strengthened India’s intent to defend at any cost. Understanding the importance of “Strait of Malacca”, and how it can act as a game changer in the ongoing show of muscle, India has focused on massive build ups in Andaman and Nicobar islands. Indian Navy has also ramped up for their multi mission deployment in SCS.

 

Furthermore, India is committed to leverage the presence of US, France and other allies in the region by strategically using their bases in Diego Garcia, Reunion islands and in other ASEAN countries to tackle Chinese dominance.

 

ASEAN is an important group of countries which needs India’s support to survive and realising their needs; the army is also in contact with their governments for the export of defence equipment and logistic support platforms.

 

India has always tried to stay neutral and it has benefited the country in many aspects economically and allowed itself to not engage in international events which had nothing to do with them directly. But given the military and economic might the country has managed to achieve, it is impossible for India to remain tranquil during geopolitical events. And surely India is gradually solidifying its economic intents on global platforms. The country is also firm with its decision to protect national and international peace and sovereignties, and the Indian presence is definitely going to curtail the Chinese String of Pearls strategy to bring in law and order in the world.

The views expressed above are personal and belong to the author.

This post has been written by Rishav Kumar.

Also See : Bleeding China!! Is this the Beginning of the End?, Recession Ahead? Wall Street Catching Gold!!

Is Indian Ocean the Next Battleground?

Satellite Image of Chagos Islands
Image Source : Wikimedia Commons

Connecting Gulf of Eden and Gulf of Oman, Indian Ocean emerges as having both strategic and economic importance to the world.

Indian Ocean is the region that caters to 40% of world's oil supply amounting to 64% of oil trade. And with over 34% world population residing in the coastal economies, countries like India, USA, France, UK and China are adamant to increase their military presence here. Stretching across three continents and acting as a junction to various strategically important straits and passes, the ocean comes with a wide range of economic and strategic opportunities.

The ocean is believed to have rich petroleum and oil deposits due to the fact that Persian Gulf which is the largest oil producing basin in the world is located here. The region also provides huge deposits of Manganese nodules, Titanium oxide, Zircon, Chromite and so on. Indian Ocean is home to 23 out of 100 largest sea ports in the world. It carries about half of the world's sea-borne oil. The intra-regional trade accounts to 27.2% of total trade which supports many marine industries. It caters to raw materials for biotechnology, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, seaweed harvesting and marine derived bio-products.

Contributing immensely to the GDP of various economies sharing maritime borders with the Indian Ocean, the power sector has definitely found its way into the huge empire of marine industry with offshore wind, wave and tidal energy production plants being set up at an unprecedented level. Marine tourism, Engineering consultancy, Meteorological Consultancy, Environment consultancy are some of the major beneficiaries of this industry with Marine tourism taking the maximum share of the business.

However the region has seen an increase in piracy cases contributing to 40% of global piracy incidents, and is accompanied by concerning actions by few regional superpowers which has added to the instability in the region.

Economically powerful countries don't shy away from claiming what's not theirs', and in the name of national interest, they have turned the Indian Ocean into a battleground. This battleground is one of the most prosperous regions in the world but due to the ongoing tussle among the neighbours here, one spark can bring down the entire global economy and can very well be the breeding ground for World War III. Certainly Indian Ocean in this present situation has become an OCEAN THAT MATTERS.

 

The views expressed above are personal and belong to the author.

This post has been written by Rishav Kumar.

Also See : Bleeding China!! Is this the Beginning of the End?, India's Nuclear Ambitions, India's Future Plans: Exploring Space, India's Strategies on Space!! Defending the Space!!