Title: Chinese Views of India in the Indian Ocean: A Geopolitical Perspective
Abstract: Abstract In recent years, China's strategic community has emerged as an increasingly vocal and influential constituent of Chinese policy debates. This article focuses on Chinese analysts steeped in the realpolitik tradition. These intellectuals and strategists discern a troubling trend towards intense competition and zero-sum interactions in the Indian Ocean. In their view, a progressively assertive India will set the pace of the impending maritime rivalries among the great powers. This article argues that if such a grim forecast takes hold in Beijing, power plays already underway in the Indian Ocean will likely become more pronounced and contentious. Notes 1. Liu Qian, ‘China's India Studies’, Contemporary International Relations, 18(3), 2008, p. 75. 2. Song Dexing and Bai Jun, ‘The Ocean of the 21st Century: The Indian Ocean from a Geostrategic Perspective’, South Asian Studies, 89(3), 2009, pp. 31–32. 3. Guido Gerosa, ‘La Flotta Sovietica Presidia Nuovi Mari’, L'Europeo, 32, August 1970, p. 9. 4. Guido Gerosa, ‘Will the Indian Ocean Become a Soviet Pond?’ [translation], Atlas, 19(11), 1970, p. 20. 5. T.B. Millar, ‘Geopolitics and Military/Strategic Potential’, in Alvin J. Cottrell and R.M. Burrell (eds.), The Indian Ocean: Its Political, Economic, and Military Importance, Praeger Publishers, New York, 1972, p. 76. 6. Hu Pei, ‘The Indian Navy Rules the Roost in South Asia’, Modern Ships, 3, 1996, pp. 7–10. 7. George W. Baer, One Hundred Years of Sea Power: The United States Navy, 1890–1990, Stanford University Press, Stanford, CA, 1994, p. 12. 8. Yu Fengliu, ‘Why Do Global Hegemons Always Seek to Control the Indian Ocean?’, Modern Navy, 4, 2008, p. 19. 9. Wang Lirong, ‘The Indian Ocean and China's Sea Lane Security Strategy’, South Asian Studies, 3, 2009, pp. 48–50. 10. Che Lin, ‘The Indian Ocean's Strategic Position and Its Implications for China's National Security’, Journal of Chongqing Socialism College, 1, 2010, p. 82. 11. Li Jingyu and Zhang Zhuo, ‘A Strategic Vision of China Opening Up Two Oceanic Passages’, China Soft Science, 8, 2010, p. 51. 12. Lo Chunhao and Zhang Mingming, ‘The Strategic Importance of South Asia and China's Strategy in South Asia’, Contemporary International Relations, 2, 2010, p. 43. 13. Wang Lirong, no. 9, p. 50. 14. Liu Xinhua, ‘On the Indian Ocean Problem in Sino-Indian Relations’, Pacific Journal, 18(1), 2010, p. 53. See also Indian Maritime Doctrine, Integrated Headquarters, Ministry of Defence [Navy], New Delhi, 2004, p. 54. 15. Ma Jiali and Shu Jun, ‘India's Maritime Outlook and Its Maritime Strategy’, Asia and Africa Review, 2, 2009, p. 50. 16. Hu Wei, ‘India's Great Power Strategy and Influence from a Geopolitical Perspective’, Peace and Development, 5, October 2010, p. 65. 17. Zheng Li, ‘India's Naval Strategy and Indo-U.S. Cooperation and Contradictions in the Indian Ocean’, South Asian Studies Quarterly, 1, 2005, p. 114. 18. Jawaharlal Nehru, The Discovery of India, The John Day Company, New York, 1946, p. 44. Chinese authors reference the 1956 Chinese translation: Jawaharlal Nehru, The Discovery of India, Ji Wen (trans.), Shijie Zhishi Publisher, Beijing, 1956. 19. Ma Jiali, ‘India Steps Up Its Eastward Strategy’, Contemporary International Relations, 18(8), 2008, p. 48. 20. Zhang Wei, ‘An Analysis of India's Maritime Strategy’, Southeast Asian and South Asian Studies, 4, 2009, p. 20. 21. Liu Xinhua, no. 14, p. 47. 22. Chinese studies typically cite a 1965 translation of India and the Indian Ocean. See K.M. Panikkar, India and the Indian Ocean: An Essay on the Influence of Sea Power on Indian History, De Long and Wang Shu (trans.), Shijie Zhishi Publisher, Beijing, 1965. 23. K.M. Panikkar, India and the Indian Ocean: An Essay on the Influence of Sea Power on Indian History, 2nd ed., George Allen and Unwin Ltd, London, 1962, pp. 1, 84, 92, and 99. 24. Liu Zhen, ‘A Strategic Analysis of India's Maritime Expansionism’, Modern Navy, 7, 2011, p. 45. 25. Ibid., p. 46. 26. K.M. Panikkar, no. 23, p. 15. 27. Wang Xinlong, ‘India's Maritime Strategy and Its Influence on Sino-Indian Relations’, South Asian Studies Quarterly, 1, 2004, p. 88. 28. Liu Zhongmin, ‘The Indian Ocean and South Asia: The Maritime Strategic Contest over the South Asian Littoral’, Ocean World, 12, 2008, pp. 78–79. See also Wang Xinlong, no. 27, p. 88. 29. Liu Xinhua, no. 14, p. 56. 30. Song Dexing and Bai Jun, ‘Analysis of India's Maritime Security Strategy in the New Era’, Forum of World Economics and Politics, 4, July 2011, p. 48. See also Indian Maritime Doctrine, no. 14, p. 71. 31. Song Dexing and Bai Jun, ‘Analysis of India's Maritime Security Strategy’, no. 30, p. 50. 32. Lou Chunhao, ‘The New Dynamics in the Indian Ocean and the China-U.S.-India Competition’, Contemporary International Relations, 5, 2011, p. 30. 33. Liu Jianzhong, ‘The Indian Navy's Sumptuous Arms Purchases’, Modern Navy, 6, 2010, p. 39. 34. Ma Ying, ‘An Analysis of India's Maritime Strategy’, Pacific Journal, 18(6), June 2010, p. 76. 35. Ibid., pp. 76–78. 36. Shi Chunlin, ‘Sea Lane Security in the Indian Ocean and China's Strategic Response’, South Asian Studies Quarterly, 3, 2010, p. 2. 37. Yin Fang, ‘India's Maritime Strategy in the New Century from a Geopolitical Perspective’, Journal of PLA University of Foreign Languages, 24(5), 2001, p. 105. 38. Hu Qingliang, ‘Indian Maritime Strategy and Its Influence on China's Energy Security’, South Asian Studies Quarterly, 1, 2008, p. 25. 39. Ren Huaifeng, ‘On the Intervention of Extra-Regional Powers and the Changing Security Dynamics of the South Sea Region’, Forum of World Economics and Politics, 5, 2009, p. 65. 40. Zhong Guangyou, ‘India's Eastern Maritime Strategy and Its Implications’, Around Southeast Asia, 9, 2006, p. 65. 41. Wang Chuanjian, ‘India's South China Sea Policy: Intent and Implications’, Foreign Affairs Review, 3, 2010, p. 110. 42. Liu Qing, ‘“The String of Pearls Strategy”: India's Assessment and Response’, South Asian Studies Quarterly, 2, 2010, pp. 26–27. 43. Christopher A. Ford, The Mind of Empire: China's History and Modern Foreign Relations, University Press of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, 2010, p. 16. 44. David Brewster, ‘The Relationship between India and Indonesia’, Asian Survey, 51(2), 2011, p. 239. 45. Toshi Yoshihara, ‘China's Soft Naval Power in the Indian Ocean’, Pacific Focus, 25(1), 2010, pp. 78–82. 46. Wang Dehua, ‘On China's Harmonious Indian Ocean Strategy’, Journal of Social Sciences, 12, 2008, pp. 32–33.
Publication Year: 2012
Publication Date: 2012-05-01
Language: en
Type: article
Indexed In: ['crossref']
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Cited By Count: 14
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