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China's View of South Asia and the Indian Ocean
Published on August 31, 2010 by Dean Cheng
The Indian Ocean is becoming increasingly important to China's economic and security interests. China appears to be pursuing what has been widely characterized as a "string of pearls" strategy of cultivating India's neighbors as friendly states, both to protect its economic and security interests and to balance a "rising India." With Chinese influence in the region growing, it is essential that the U.S. not fall behind in the Indian Ocean, but maintain a steady presence in the region, both to signal its resolve to stay engaged and to avoid the difficulties of reentering a region.
China's View of South Asia and the Indian Ocean
As the People's Republic of China (PRC) expands its global economic and security interests, one region of growing importance to Beijing will be the Indian Ocean area. Not only must a significant portion of China's oil imports transit this region, but one of China's enduring friends (Pakistan) and one of its long-time rivals (India) border this region, as well as China's sensitive Tibetan flank......
European colonialism ended Chinese and Indian isolation, both from each other and from the rest of the world, yet it affected the two major Asian powers very differently. India was conquered by the British and directly colonized. In the period of decolonization, the Indian Subcontinent was partitioned into Hindu-majority India and Muslim-majority East and West Pakistan (now Bangladesh and Pakistan, respectively).[1]
By contrast, although China retained nominal sovereignty, the Chinese view this period as the "Century of Humiliation." From 1840 to 1945, China lost control of its destiny. During this period, foreigners collected China's tariffs and taxes, were immune from Chinese law and prosecution, and ultimately were able to dictate China's fate. When the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) won the Chinese civil war, Mao Zedong made a point to say that China would now "stand up." For Mao and the rest of the CCP leadership, their victory marked the return of the ability of the Chinese to dictate their own future. This had two implications for Chinese views of South Asia.
The first implication is that Chinese territory is a unitary whole and inviolable. The "Century of Humiliation" saw foreign intrusions into China, the creation of concessions, and even the forcible removal of territory from Chinese control (e.g., Hong Kong and Taiwan). This would no longer be tolerated. In the South Asian context, from the perspective of the CCP leadership, Tibet, like Taiwan, is part of China, and any threat to Chinese control is wholly unacceptable.
The other implication is that China's borders have been unduly affected and influenced by foreign pressure and domination, especially through the application of "unequal treaties." Consequently, now that China is strong, it is Beijing that will determine whether it accepts the current borders or not. More to the point, from its perspective, China is under no obligation to accept borders that were demarcated by more powerful foreign parties.
See the Paragraphs on Chinese Relations with South Asian States.......
For the foreseeable future, Chinese strategic planners will need to pay increasing attention to China's Indian Ocean flank. In the short term, China is concerned about its growing dependence on the sea lanes of communications for sustaining China's economic growth. In 2010, for the first time, China imported more than 50 percent of its oil consumption. Chinese President Hu Jintao has already raised the issue of the Malacca Strait. There is little question that it is a key chokepoint on China's oil supply routes. Part of China's interest in developing alternative ports and pipelines, such as in Pakistan and Burma, would seem to be motivated by a desire to reduce the criticality of the Malacca Strait.
Even if China's oil lifeline did not have to transit the Strait of Malacca, it would nonetheless traverse significant portions of the Indian Ocean. The growth of the Indian navy means that Chinese economic development is potentially at the mercy of India, as well as the United States. The forging of Indian security links with Japan and the United States is therefore a source of concern.
The Recommendations for U.S. Policy are also worth a dekko, as is Maintaining a Strong U.S. Presence in the Region.
The Myitsone dam project was being developed jointly by Burma and China at the head of the Irrawaddy river, the confluence of the Mali and N'Mai rivers in Kachin state, in an area currently the scene of conflict between government forces and ethnic minority insurgents.
The vast majority of the electricity produced on the dam would benefit China, and the dam had served to inflame growing anti-Chinese sentiment in Burma, our correspondent says......
"The people [are] really happy and welcome the decision made by President Thein Sein because it wasn't only [Aung San] Suu Kyi, let me remind you of that.
"It's the population, the whole Burmese who feel they belong to the culture heritage of the Irrawaddy river. They welcome the news."....
BBC News - Burma dam: Work halted on divisive Myitsone project
It is extraordinary that closest of allies of China are bucking the friendship when China alone has stood by them against all world opinion.Chinese mining company pulled out of what was to be Pakistan's largest foreign-investment deal because of security concerns, complicating Islamabad's effort to position its giant neighbor as an alternative to the U.S. as its main ally.
An official at China Kingho Group, one of China's largest private coal miners, said on Thursday it had backed out in August from a $19 billion deal in southern Sindh province due to concerns for its personnel after recent bombings in Pakistan's major cities.....
A Deal's Collapse Clouds Pakistan's China Alliance - WSJ.com
The issues of discontent in Africa is understandable and so is the problems in the South China Seas, but this is really unexplainable.
Is China losing her grip?
If so, why?
And yet, I believe that China is speedily attempting to link China with Afghanistan and some speculate a greater role of China to include taking over the vacuum cause by the US drawdown.
What exactly is China's gameplan when things are not going her way and that too in otherwise without doubt the closest friends of China.
Given the Xinjiang is a headache for China and the string of pearls an important strategic cog, with both Pakistan and Burma being obtuse, what unfettered harvest can China reap in these two countries and add another one to its kitty - Afghanistan?!
I might as well add that China is in the process of linking Bangladesh to Kunming via Myanmar by road and rail and building a deep sea port for Bangladesh.
What will be the strategic scenario in Asia Pacific?
May also see
http://council.smallwarsjournal.com/showthread.php?t=13649