China set to mine central Indian Ocean, Delhi worried

[muse]

just dont understand why indians make big fuss out of this? none will prevent them from doing the same thing in south china sea, they just need apply license to International Seabed Authority first.
delusional indians might think indian ocean just belongs to india alone. but the reality is if they want to mine central indian ocean they need apply license to ISA too

There is a Pavlovian conditioning that is being created in India, I hope there are saner people who will reject such conditioning.

 

[acetophenol]

we can put over assets in the area in alert.

 

[harpoon]

not sure but definitely not within india territory otherwise the chinese company will apply the license to indian gov instead :Rofl

If its near Diego Garcia, Indians may not be only one worried.

 

[Tshering22]

If its near Diego Garcia, Indians may not be only one worried.

It says central IOR. Now that is somewhere a bit away from DIego Garcia. BTW what is Con-gress doing about this drilling? Any clues?

 

[pmukherjee]

China set to mine central Indian Ocean, Delhi worried

China set to mine central Indian Ocean, Delhi worried - Indian Express


China’s application for deep-sea mining licence in central Indian Ocean has been cleared by an international body, leaving the Ministries of Defence and External Affairs concerned. They fear Beijing may use it as “an excuse to operate their warships in this area”.

It was on July 19 that the International Seabed Authority cleared China’s request for exploration and mining licences in Southwestern Indian Ridge.

The Directorate of Naval Intelligence (DNI) has warned that this could have critical implications for India as the “Chinese would have reasons to maintain a continuous presence in the region”.

“It would provide them an opportunity to collect oceanographic and hydrological data in a legitimate manner. Further, it would also provide an excuse to operate their warships in this area,” says the DNI note.

Though China claims that it is only trying to meet a growing demand for minerals, the note adds, “the military implications of the move are evident and would need to be monitored by the Indian Navy”.

This analysis has been seconded by the Ministry of External Affairs’ East Asia wing, which called the China application a “worrying development” and asked for legal options to “prevent it”.

However, the MEA’s legal wing has made it clear that there is not much India can do as China has proposed the “exploratory activities” beyond the national jurisdiction of any State.

A day after China got the go-ahead, an inter-ministerial panel decided that India would approach the ISA’s Legal & Technical Commission to ensure that adequate safeguards were incorporated in the licence and activities are carried out in accordance with the contract.

The State-run China Ocean Mineral Resources Research and Development Association had applied for the licence in May last year to explore for polymetallic sulphides in the Southwest Indian Ridge. It would now be required to sign a contract with the ISA, allowing it to explore up to 10,000 sq km over the next 15 years in line with the new rules on polymetallic sulphides adopted by the ISA last year.

China, which has ratified the 1982 Law of the Sea Convention and is an ISA member, has been active in deep sea exploration since 2002 when it launched a programme that included developing an active diving submersible, ‘The Jiaolong’, designed for a maximum depth of 7,000 metres.

The Jiaolong is currently diving at a site between Hawaii and the North America mainland, where China was granted rights to explore for minerals in 2001.

Although Chinese officials say The Jiaolong is for civilian use only, foreign military experts say such a craft could be used to intercept or sever undersea communications cables, to retrieve foreign weaponry on the ocean floor, or to repair or rescue naval submarines.

The ISA’s current contractors comprise six companies and the governments of India and South Korea which hold licences to explore polymetallic nodules in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone.

Who the hell told us not to do what they are doing? Nothing stops us from mining the Central Indian Ocean or the North Atlantic for that matter. If it is economically viable and if we have the technology to do it, what is stopping us from doing the same as China?

Who says that Chinese warships do not visit the Indian Ocean now? We know that they are a part of the international anti piracy initiative and have warships more or less permanently based in the Gulf of Aden and off the Eastern African seaboard. Chinese warships do operate in the Indian Ocean, they call on various ports and countries. Chinese warships call on Indian ports too. However China does not maintain a substantial naval presence in the Indian Ocean. They do not have the compulsion now as their security needs are better served by maintaining a strong presence in the China Seas in particular and the Northern Pacific in general. They also do not have a sufficiently strong blue water navy so as to be able to spare substantial assets for the Indian Ocean as of now. In another two decades, the PLA Navy will be strong enough to project cognizable power in the Indian Ocean.

I do not see any reason why India should worry if the Chinese mine in the Indian Ocean. Why should warships accompany a deep sea mining project? And if they do so what? I do not think anyone is worried or anxious. There is no logic in this. I think this is the figment of imagination of the reporter who simply wishes to sensationalise a non issue.

 

[indian navy]

well world only respect for strong

we have to increase our navy strength in future navy will define the power ratio

but the fact is we are behind from china

 

[Tshering22]

well world only respect for strong

we have to increase our navy strength in future navy will define the power ratio

but the fact is we are behind from china

Not in terms of Navy. In fact, Navy is the only branch of tri-service right now that can boast of being ahead of PLAN in terms of operation, experience in theatres of warfare and other areas. The only weak point that IN has is its underwater fleet which is abysmal right now compared to PLAN's massive underwater fleet.

It is not just important to have fancy equipment but have the WILL and DEDICATION to use it, which our politicians clearly don't have. History has always proven that it is the will and not the fancy equipment that wins respect around the world. Vietnamese are a fine example. Their will to survive and win showed this amply well.

 

[jdme]

At what point Indians would stop behaving like little chicken and act as adults? This is boring, this mentality of how we are eunuch and world is out to get us. At what point you stop whining? If China is out to get you, go get China. Go drill in sea near them (if you can) but God, spare us the drama.

 

[IndoCarib]

At what point Indians would stop behaving like little chicken and act as adults? This is boring, this mentality of how we are eunuch and world is out to get us. At what point you stop whining? If China is out to get you, go get China. Go drill in sea near them (if you can) but God, spare us the drama.

You are one naive NRI. Perhaps you dont know a thing about Cuban missile crisis. There is no drama here. India is expressing its concern. The tit for tat policy you are suggesting doesnt work in international relations. Drilling in South China see for what ?? Sand ?? If there were minerals in south China see bed why would China select Indian ocean?? Now that China has come to our front yard we are naturally worried. But I dont think GOI will sit idle. We will have to wait and see how India handles this situation.

 

[jdme]

You are one naive NRI. Perhaps you dont know a thing about Cuban missile crisis. There is no drama here. India is expressing its concern. The tit for tat policy you are suggesting doesnt work in international relations. Drilling in South China see for what ?? Sand ?? If there were minerals in south China see bed why would China select Indian ocean?? Now that China has come to our front yard we are naturally worried. But I dont think GOI will sit idle. We will have to wait and see how India handles this situation.

Sorry sparky but you have contradicted yourself in just first 2 lines.

India by the way expresses too much concern and is incapable of doing nothing. Perhaps India should realize that it is a weakling and simply surrender? Last time I checked, expressing concern amounts to nothing. USSR and USA matched each other in strength and influence and US expressed it's concern with actual muscle, not words. Playing victim only works for weak. Just admit that you are weak then!


China is surrounding us, China in Indian ocean, China in Pakistan, China in ***, China in SriLanka, China in Myanmar...Oh God, when would Indian government grow a pair. If it is incapable of "acting on this threat", atleast let Indian people not suffer this nonstop "concern" alert. Obviously all these "excursions" are on sided since I never hear China expressing concern over India.

 

[IndoCarib]

Sorry sparky but you have contradicted yourself in just first 2 lines.

India by the way expresses too much concern and is incapable of doing nothing. Perhaps India should realize that it is a weakling and simply surrender? Last time I checked, expressing concern amounts to nothing. USSR and USA matched each other in strength and influence and US expressed it's concern with actual muscle, not words. Playing victim only works for weak. Just admit that you are weak then!


China is surrounding us, China in Indian ocean, China in Pakistan, China in ***, China in SriLanka, China in Myanmar...Oh God, when would Indian government grow a pair. If it is incapable of "acting on this threat", atleast let Indian people not suffer this nonstop "concern" alert. Obviously all these "excursions" are on sided since I never hear China expressing concern over India.

China expresses concern over ROK-US military drills

Top US military commanders express deep concern over Chinese military buildup | a12iggymom's Blog

And please read up on Cuban missile crisis !

 

[jdme]

China expresses concern over ROK-US military drills

Top US military commanders express deep concern over Chinese military buildup | a12iggymom's Blog

So China thinks US is threat and complains about it. Makes sense. We are for China what China is for US. Do you see the problem? On the other hand all US "concerns" are backed by actual actions. They don;t just sit around and express concern.


So now that you have admitted that we are a weak nation, perhaps you can educate our foreign policy makes how to act?

 

[IndoCarib]

So China thinks US is threat and complains about it. Makes sense. We are for China what China is for US. Do you see the problem? On the other hand all US "concerns" are backed by actual actions. They don;t just sit around and express concern.


So now that you have admitted that we are a weak nation, perhaps you can educate our foreign policy makes how to act?

Please enlighten me on this

 

[newdelhinsa]

Interesting -- Does China or anyone else, need an "excuse" to operate their warships in the international waters?? This is of course a silly objection but it gets some of our Indian friends animated for some reason -- and what reason might those be?



Intercept and sever undersea cables in the middle of the Indian ocean, where no such cables exist --- and of course if there are "foreign" weapons on the sea floor, unless the salvage value of these has gained some sort of astronomical value, why the concern, after all, if Indian friends wish to recover these "foreign" weapons, who could object?

There is no harm in throwing concerns. In Punjabi we say ''Keerey Pana". Are we going to spend fortune on this? not all.

 

[jdme]

Please enlighten me on this

Oh you mean the bases in Japan and overall presence around China in Pacific ocean is not enlightenment enough for you. The fact that China has not yet invaded Taiwan might be enlightening..Or indirect push from US to stir up Chinese neighbors in general like Vietnam/Philippines/India...

What has India done?