By Chris Mclachlan
The territory has a potentially crucial role in bolstering India’s presence in the Indian Ocean.
The Indian Ocean has become an important aspect in China’s foreign policy, as it links Chinese sea lines of communications (SLOCs) to African and Middle Eastern energy as well as European trade routes. The Indian Ocean region (IOR) contains China’s most important SLOCs: as much as 75 percent of China’s oil imports (more than 6 million barrels daily) come from the Middle East and Africa. This maritime presence is supplemented by Chinese investments in port facilities that ring the IOR. Chinese scholars view the Indian Ocean as an area of potential rivalry between India and China, according to naval scholar Toshi Yoshihara.
With increasing Chinese activity in the IOR, India is awakening to the possibility of deep Chinese engagement in the Indian Ocean. If India is to strengthen its presence in the Indian Ocean, it must take advantage of its geography, specifically the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Located in the Eastern Indian Ocean, this group of 244 islands spans 450 nautical miles and sits strategically at the entrance of the Strait of Malacca, one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes. According to Yoshihara, the location of these islands allows for India to play into China’s psyche by creating an Indian version of the Western Pacific’s first-island chain.
Read the full story at The Diplomat