A strategic Chinese move in the Indian Ocean

China has now added one more strand to its ‘string of pearls’ strategy in the vital Indian Ocean Region (IOR), providing fresh evidence of the finely-tuned Chinese policy of encirclement. China, which has already forged extensive trade, economic and maritime links with a number of countries in the IOR, has signed a strategically significant contract with the International Sea Bed Authority (ISBA), to explore poly-metallic sulphide ore deposits in the IOR over the next fifteen years. Under this contract, China’s Ocean Mineral Resources Research and Development Association (COMRA) will get exclusive rights to explore 10,000-sq km of seabed in the southwest Indian Ocean off the coast of Africa.

Polymetallic sulphides, which are said to be rich in copper, iron, gold, silver, lead and zinc, are normally found around volcanic springs on the sea bed. Incidentally, in 2001, China had obtained rights to prospect a 75,000-sq km area of international seabed for poly-metallic nodules in the Pacific Ocean.

A widely circulated report from the Xinhua news agency says the deal, which has long term commercial potential, requires China to fulfil certain environmental obligations and monitoring. As envisaged now, COMRA will have to give up 75 per cent of the region within ten years following which it will have the pre-emptive rights to mine the remaining area. Not unexpectedly, India’s Directorate of Naval Intelligence (DNI), has expressed concern that COMRA’s access would have serious implications for India’s security.

Analysts in India also see this deal as a reflection of India’s own failure to be more pro-active in better utilising its mining exploration rights. China, like any other sovereign state, was well within its rights to apply for access to the region, say Chinese officials. “According to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea Treaty, international sea bed areas and their resources are commonly inherited property of mankind,” said a spokesman of the Chinese Foreign Ministry. Diplomatic commentators hold the view that this could mark a major shift in legitimising China’s aggressive posturing in the IOR.

India’s own initiative for deep sea exploration could not take off on account of a number of factors including bureaucratic sloth, technological shortcomings and the failure to sort out overlapping maritime boundary issues with the neighbouring countries – Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Added to that India has not been able to put in place maritime assets good enough for accomplishing the challenging task of deep sea mining. The Chennai-based National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) and Goa-based National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) are still in the process of developing the technologies for deep-sea exploration and sea-bed mining. But their work has not matured enough to support the task of mining the deep sea.

In fact, India had squandered away the opportunity it got to explore the deep seas pretty early in the day. Way back in 1987, the ISA had granted India a pioneer investor status. Following this, ISA allocated a mine site of 150,000-sq kms in the central Indian Ocean basin for exclusive survey and exploration. India’s response was lethargic. No meaningful technology for sea bed mining could be developed in a time bound manner. On its part, Chinese researchers and marine engineers toiled relentlessly to put in place a wherewithal to initiate the sea bed mining. As things stand now, sea bed mining could provide China very legitimate cover to gather maritime intelligence data in areas of interest in the IOR with a particular focus on the hydrographic regime. “The right to mine the Indian Ocean provides them (Chinese) with an opportunity to collect oceanographic and hydrological data in a legitimate manner. Further, it would also provide an excuse to operate their warships in the area. The military implications of the move are evident and would need to be monitored by the Indian navy,” says DNI.

Eventually, China will have a continuing presence in the critical IOR, say analysts. Chinese naval vessels are already patrolling the IOR to counteract sea piracy .To expand its footprint in the IOR, China is looking at setting up ground stations to link up with satellites covering the region. Trade and maritime relations with the littoral states in the area continues to receive more than usual attention in Beijing. Sir Lanka’s Hambantota port, built with the technical and financial assistance of China has been projected as a showpiece of Sri Lanka-China maritime cooperation. Similarly, the Chinese plan to build an all-weather deep-sea port at Sonadia near Chittagong in Bangladesh could strengthen their presence in the Bay of Bengal and Indian Ocean. China which is involved in building railway networks, gas and oil pipelines and ports and naval facilities in Myanmar has set up a powerful radar network all along the Myanmarese coast.

“The rise of China as a sea power is one of the biggest developments of the last decade”, says Robert Kaplan of the Centre for New American Security, a Washington-based think tank. However the only handicap of Chinese naval power in its quest to dominate the IOR is the absence of a full-fledged operational aircraft carrier, which it hopes to achieve vy the middle of this decade. China has accomplished the inaugural sea trials of what is being claimed as its first aircraft carrier in August 2011, built around a 60,000-tonne Ukranian warship that China had bought as a scrap.

The Indian Ocean is a key waterbody of importance for India’s maritime strategy as well as energy security. Incidentally, the bulk of the world’s oil supply from the Middle East passes through this region. About 40 per cent of the global trade passes through the ocean including 70 per cent of the total traffic of oil and petroleum products. According to Kevin Rudd, Australia’s foreign affairs minister, “The Indian Ocean is a region where much of the economic and strategic dynamics of the 21st century will be played out”. Not surprisingly then, China, as part of its long-term vision to emerge as an unchallenged global power is keen to dominate this oceanic stretch.

Indian security and intelligence agencies suspect that the Chinese fishing trawlers moving along the Wheeler Islands, off India’s eastern coast could have equipment and devices to monitor Indian missile test launches and collect vital telemetric data. This could provide China with a valuable database to engineer counter measures to the Indian missiles. With the dragon close to the Indian doorsteps via the oceanic routes, India should be extra vigilant about Chinese “hegemonic ambitions in the Indian Ocean Region” and prepare a long-term maritime security plan to protect Indian interests in the Indian Ocean.

Radhakrishna Rao is a freelancer specializing in defence and aerospace issues

Views expressed are personal