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Defending the recent deployment of Chinese submarines in the Indian Ocean, a Chinese military strategist at the People’s Liberation Army’s official think-tank said on Monday that the Chinese navy was right “to protect its interests” in the region, which India should be “broad minded” enough to accommodate.
Zhou Bo, honorary fellow at the Academy of Military Science, the top PLA thinktank in Beijing, justified the deployments in an article published in the official China Daily newspaper, arguing that much of China’s energy interests were in the Indian Ocean.
He was responding to Indian concerns about the deployment of a Yuan-class submarine which sailed through the Arabian Sea to Karachi in May, followed by the deployment of submarines to Colombo last year.
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With PLA Navy submarines docking in Sri Lanka and Pakistan over the past year, Indian strategic experts have questioned China’s deployment in the Indian Ocean
“Even if Chinese naval ships and submarines appear regularly in the Indian Ocean, so what?” he asked.
“As the largest trading nation in the world, maritime security in the Indo-Pacific cannot be more important for China. The Chinese navy has to protect its overseas interests such as the safety of personnel and security of property and investment. Much of these are along the rim of the Indian Ocean,” Bo said.
He said that as a fellow oil importer, India needed to have “a better understanding” of China’s motivations, with four-fifths of Chinese imports passing through the area.
“India alone cannot assure the security of the Indian Ocean, even if it regards the Indian Ocean as its backyard and wishes no one to compete with it there. This is why counter-piracy has involved navies from more than 20 countries, including China and India. China is not jostling with India for strategic influence in the Indian Ocean,” he added.
The link between protecting China’s economic interests and submarine deployments has not often been articulated by PLA strategists.
Chinese diplomats have justified submarine deployments in the past as part of its efforts to jointly combat piracy and protect international ships in the Indian Ocean.
With PLA Navy submarines docking in the past year in Sri Lanka and Pakistan, Indian strategic experts have debated whether there was a message to India in the deployment.
Read more: China defends deploying its submarines in Indian Ocean | Daily Mail Online
Zhou Bo, honorary fellow at the Academy of Military Science, the top PLA thinktank in Beijing, justified the deployments in an article published in the official China Daily newspaper, arguing that much of China’s energy interests were in the Indian Ocean.
He was responding to Indian concerns about the deployment of a Yuan-class submarine which sailed through the Arabian Sea to Karachi in May, followed by the deployment of submarines to Colombo last year.
+1
With PLA Navy submarines docking in Sri Lanka and Pakistan over the past year, Indian strategic experts have questioned China’s deployment in the Indian Ocean
“Even if Chinese naval ships and submarines appear regularly in the Indian Ocean, so what?” he asked.
“As the largest trading nation in the world, maritime security in the Indo-Pacific cannot be more important for China. The Chinese navy has to protect its overseas interests such as the safety of personnel and security of property and investment. Much of these are along the rim of the Indian Ocean,” Bo said.
He said that as a fellow oil importer, India needed to have “a better understanding” of China’s motivations, with four-fifths of Chinese imports passing through the area.
“India alone cannot assure the security of the Indian Ocean, even if it regards the Indian Ocean as its backyard and wishes no one to compete with it there. This is why counter-piracy has involved navies from more than 20 countries, including China and India. China is not jostling with India for strategic influence in the Indian Ocean,” he added.
The link between protecting China’s economic interests and submarine deployments has not often been articulated by PLA strategists.
Chinese diplomats have justified submarine deployments in the past as part of its efforts to jointly combat piracy and protect international ships in the Indian Ocean.
With PLA Navy submarines docking in the past year in Sri Lanka and Pakistan, Indian strategic experts have debated whether there was a message to India in the deployment.
Read more: China defends deploying its submarines in Indian Ocean | Daily Mail Online
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