PROFESSOR MOHAN MALIK ON "ASIA'S GREAT NAVAL RIVALRY"

sep 16th, 2011 CE

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From: Ram Narayanan
Date: Tue, Sep 13, 2011 at 11:40 AM
Subject: PROFESSOR MOHAN MALIK ON "ASIA'S GREAT NAVAL RIVALRY"
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http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904537404576551934186873612.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

·        SEPTEMBER 5, 2011, 4:18 P.M. ET

Asia's Great Naval Rivalry

To avoid a future clash between China and India, a maritime conference is needed to set some rules.

 

By MOHAN MALIK

Media reports last week of a Chinese warship confronting an Indian navy vessel in the South China Sea come as that part of the world is the scene of diplomatic tussling. In recent months, the Philippines and Vietnam objected to Chinese harassment of oil exploration vessels and fishermen. Last year, Beijing let it be known that it would not tolerate another maritime power operating in the South China Sea—which its officials have described as a "core interest."

It is clearer by the day that this trend will lead to some kind of showdown. China's growing economic strength, military might and hypernationalism at home are spurring actions abroad that bring it into increasingly dangerous conflicts. The best solution to defuse tension would be to get the biggest naval powers in the region together and draw up general rules for sea navigation and commerce.

The Indian ship in question, INS Airavat, was completing a port call in Vietnam, a country that often clashes with China. The two fought a war over unresolved territorial and maritime boundaries in 1979. Vietnam perceives China as an irredentist and expansionist power. It recently has increased coordination, military and diplomatic, with nations that also see China as a threat, to hedge against its neighbor.

India certainly shares Vietnam's views on China, and has been receptive to Hanoi's outreach. New Delhi's relationship with Beijing is scarred by a border war it fought in 1962 and by other unresolved territorial troubles in the Indian northeast. The two also compete for geopolitical influence, especially as they scramble for energy resources. In 2007, Beijing strongly protested a Vietnamese-Indian energy exploration project in the disputed waters of the South China Sea.

India is maneuvering for advantage in those spheres of influence that overlap with China. Vietnam could be to India what Pakistan is to China—a friend because it could be the enemy of its enemy.

Reuters

India's sole active aircraft carrier, INS Viraat.

 

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