India presses on land borders amid Chinese expansionism in Indian Ocean

Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that on maritime disputes, “China has been exercising a high degree of restraint. [….] In face of deliberate infringements, China will take justified actions to defend its rights in accordance with the law. In face of unwarranted provocation, China will respond with prompt and legitimate countermeasures. China also urges certain countries outside this region not to make provocations, pick sides, or stir up troubles and problems in the South China Sea.”

Wang Yi’s statements on the South China Sea come at a key point where India is mounting pressure on the India-China land border. It has redeployed 10,000 soldiers from its western border to the Indo-Tibetan border in the Indian states of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh. These troops will join 9,000 troops already guarding the 532 km stretch of the Indo-China border in these states, Bloomberg reported. The area consists of some of Hinduism’s holiest sites, known as the Char Dham (four holy abodes, as defined by Adi Shankaracharya).

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“China is committed to working with India to safeguard the peace and stability of the border areas,” Mao Ning, a spokesperson for the Chinese foreign ministry, said. “We believe that India’s practice is not conducive to safeguarding peace and is not conducive to easing tensions.” Mao added that “India’s increase in military deployments in border areas does not help to calm the situation in the border areas or to safeguard peace and safety in these areas,” according to a report by Reuters.

The armed forces are well equipped, capable and ready to give a befitting reply if anyone casts an evil eye on India, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said recently against the backdrop of the nearly four-year border row with China in eastern Ladakh and concerns over Chinese military forays into the Indian Ocean.

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Maldives’ new Islamist, anti-India President Mohamed Muizzu signed a military assistance pact with China earlier this week, surprising analysts from his own country. The small island nation, a long-standing Indian vassal, has now moved into Sinosphere, providing China with a long-desired foothold in the Indian Ocean.

“This is unprecedented. It’s the first time the Maldives has signed a defence agreement with Beijing to provide military assistance,” Azim Zahir, a Maldivian political analyst, told the BBC.

“We knew that Mr Muizzu would forge closer ties with China in terms of investment and capital, but no one expected him to go to this extent,” he said.

In anticipation of China’s move, India commissioned the INS Jatayu, an upgraded naval base in the Lakshadweep Islands, marking a significant development in India’s maritime security strategy, particularly in the context of growing Chinese influence in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).

Additionally, the Indian Navy commissioned its first MH-60R multi-role helicopter squadron Indian Naval Air Squadron (INAS) 334 at Kochi, a major capability boost for its rotary fleet and its anti-submarine warfare capabilities.

Situated in Minicoy, the southernmost atoll of the Lakshadweep archipelago, INS Jatayu strategically overlooks vital Sea Lines of Communications (SLOCs). Minicoy Island, where INS Jatayu is located, sits at the intersection of crucial SLOCs like the Eight Degree Channel and the Nine Degree Channel. Eight Degree Channel separates Indian Minicoy Island from Maldives. The Nine Degree Channel separates the island of Minicoy from the Lakshadweep archipelago.

The growing tension in the Indian Ocean between the two Asian giants seems to be one of the reasons for the reorganisation of the Indian Army on the Indo-Tibetan border, one of the most treacherous and strategic battlefronts for both countries. The Indian move increases pressure on China which attaches great political, spiritual and strategic importance to Tibet. Tibet’s Dalai Lama and its government in exile has sheltered in India, adding to tensions between the neighbours. The rumoured creation of a new Indian fighting command on the land border creates pressure for China at a time when it seeks to achieve dominance in the seas, both the South China Sea as well as the Indian Ocean.

At the same time, Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Joseph Wu Jaushieh was interviewed by a national Indian channel, infuriating the Chinese Communist Party. A public protest was quickly issued by the Chinese embassy in New Delhi condemning the interview’s content as “totally unacceptable”. Taiwan and India have moved closer in several spheres as China’s threat to Taiwan has increased with increased investments and manufacturing by Taiwanese companies in India to protect their value chain in case of an invasion by the mainland.

India’s policies at countering China have been deliberate, with the country starting to respond to Chinese aggression swiftly, especially given the upcoming general election. During his bilateral visit to Japan, India’s Foreign Minister S Jaishankar said that China has not respected its agreements with India. “We can disagree on many things, but when a country actually sort of does not observe written agreements with a neighbour, I think, you have caused … because … then raises a question mark about the stability of the relationship and frankly, about intentions,” he said.

During his bilateral visit to Tokyo, Jaishankar called on the widow of former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe. Abe’s historic speech to the Indian Parliament in 2007, “The confluence of the two seas” was his appeal for an India-Japan alliance to contain China in between the Indian and Pacific Oceans and resulted in the creation of the Quad. The centrality of India today to the Indo-Mediterranean and the Indo-Pacific, is a result of former prime minister Abe’s strategic genius and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s eventual vision and persistence.

The author is an Indo-Italian entrepreneur and has over 24 years of leadership and entrepreneurial experience across a wide range of disciplines including pharmaceuticals, technology, renewable energy, strategic consulting, not-for-profit and development in over 30 countries. He is also the founder of the Dialogue on Democracy. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost’s views.