China’s stance in the Indian Ocean is raising concerns

(Aditya Shaw,Intern Journalist): Defense and strategic experts said that China’s stance in the Indian Ocean will affect stability and peace in the region. Vice-Admiral Pradeep Kaushiv, Commandant of the National Security College, said China’s ‘People’s Liberation Army’ (PLA) has been building a naval base in the Indian Ocean for a long time.

Vice-Admiral Kaushiv said in a webinar organized by the ‘Tilottama Foundation’ that the PLA Navy may need a large number of such bases to reduce the geographical distance from China. He said that in such a situation there is a possibility of disturbance in the Indian Ocean. He said that the ‘Quad Security Dialogue’ comprising the US, Japan, Australia, and India needs to be pursued to curb expansionary China and protect the region. In November 2017, the four countries shaped “quad” or quadrilateral cooperation to develop a new strategy to keep important sea lanes in the Indo-Pacific free of any influence.

Concerns about China’s influence in the Indian Ocean increased, David Brewster of the Australian National University (ANU) said that China’s view in the Indian Ocean is political and strategic. Brewster is a Senior Research Fellow with the National Security College at ANU, where he specializes in South Asian and Indian Ocean strategic affairs. He said that relations between Australia and China have fallen significantly in the last six months as our country called for an independent investigation into the Covid-19 crisis. He added that thereafter, Beijing imposed sanctions against Australia. He said concerns were growing over China’s influence in the Indian Ocean and the time had come to make the Quad a credible group.