Harbouring ambitions - China invests in Indian Ocean ports

In early September, an Indian media report claimed New Delhi was planning to construct major air force and naval stations on the Andaman and Nicobar islands in the Indian Ocean. In particular, the article stated that by 2020 the archipelago would host permanent bases for Sukhoi-30 fighter planes, aircraft carriers and nuclear submarines, among other key military infrastructure. The government's objective, the media report asserted, was to counter China's growing influence in the Indian Ocean.

Despite the Indian media's frenzied reporting of Chinese incursions into Indian territory since August, most strategists in New Delhi believe the Indian Ocean will be the theatre for future confrontation between the two countries, rather than the remote terrain along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) between Indian- and Chinese-held territory in the Himalayan region. Linked to this is the strong belief in New Delhi that China is gradually encircling India by developing a so-called 'string of pearls', a chain of strategic ports and listening posts along the rim of the Indian Ocean.