The Indian Ocean is extremely important for China to secure navigation in the Strait of Malacca, one of the nation's major maritime supply routes, Zhang Manzhu and Li Yao, two Chinese experts in geopolitics, wrote in a piece for the Sina Military Network based in Beijing on Mar. 31.
With about 50 million people of Chinese ethnicity living in the nations surrounding the Indian Ocean, China's connection with the region will be closer than ever, according to the article. American strategist Robert Kaplan wrote in his book Monsoon: The Indian Ocean and the Future of American Power that the Indian Ocean is set to become the new maritime center of the world in the 21st century.
Kaplan said about 50% of container traffic and 70% of petroleum shipments pass through the Indian Ocean. Zhang and Li noted that over 90% of China's oil products are imported from countries in the Middle East and Africa through the Indian Ocean and Strait of Malacca. China also exports its products via the same maritime routes.
Read the full story at Want China Times