Indian Ocean: Battle Ground of Emerging Maritime Powers
by India and China should work together by resolving their bilateral issues through peaceful negotiation. Their cooperation is vital to make Indian Ocean a zone of peace.
Indian Ocean is becoming a new battle ground for Indian and China. The US attempt to get advantage from this dissent using India against China. Indian and China must cooperate to resolve their problem to make Indian Ocean free of international rivalries.
Indian Ocean security is vital for international trade. It is a major maritime lane for international shipping, and it connects the Far East and Middle East. Oil from Middle East to Far East is going through Indian Ocean. So it must be free from any hindrance to navigation.
Emerging Maritime powers
As an emerging maritime power, India believes that it should be the sole power in Indian Ocean. India considers the Indian Ocean security as a part of Indian national interest due to its size and strategic location. India involved in Sir Lanka and Maldives in the past to indicate its desire to become the sole power in the region, and India has already developed blue water naval capability.
On the other hand, China tries to have a greater influence in Indian Ocean. With the rapid development, China conducts international trade thorough sea. Indian Ocean is vital sea line of communication for China’s foreign trade, and China want to protect it. China is already supporting harbor construction projects in many states such as Myanmar and Sri Lanka to secure access to Indian Ocean.
Competing interest of China and India to control Indian Ocean affects the security in the region, including the security of bordering states. South Asian Already has several security issues such as poverty, terrorism, and nuclear arm race. China and Indian revelry can increase them, and they may try to use the existing issues to influence each others, leading to escalation of insecurity in the region.
US Interest
Having realized the situation, US try to exploit conflicting interest of China and India. China is the only competitor to US monopoly in the international system. Also United States is losing control over Indian Ocean to India and China. US attempt to fuel the dissent by supporting India against China. US involvement in the region can complicate the security in the region.
China has realized that US is trying to apply divide and rule policy in Asian region to create rift between India and China for their benefit. China has moved away from its’ traditional India centric approach where it supported Indian small neighbors against India. China tries to cooperate with India maintaining friendly relations. China should not get into the trap that US is about the lay.
Indian leaders have realized game played by US and western alliance. They try to play one against the other for their national interest. They attempt to divide Asian powerful state China and India so that they continue to influence the region. Recently, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said that it would not tilt toward United States.
India and China should work together by resolving their bilateral issues through peaceful negotiation. Their cooperation is vital to make Indian Ocean a zone of peace.
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