Date: 27/04/2023

Relevance: GS-3: Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests, India and its neighbourhood- relations.

Key Phrases: Naval Base, Great Nicobar Island, Malacca Straits, Land-Centric Strategy, Maritime Geography, Coco Islands, Indian Ocean Region, Offensive Oceanic Strategy.

Context:

• India's decision to enhance its capacities is a result of the increasing military operations in the Coco Islands and their close proximity to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Key Highlights:

• In recent years, China has been expanding its maritime reach by investing heavily in ports and infrastructure in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).
  • Myanmar, being strategically located and politically volatile, is a key target for China's maritime ambitions.
• This has been a source of concern for India, particularly given the recent reports of Chinese activity in the Coco Islands, which are in close proximity to India's Andaman and Nicobar Islands (ANI).

Why is Myanmar important to China?

• China has long sought to diversify its access to maritime routes to secure its maritime supply lines for energy imports and reduce its dependence on the narrow Strait of Malacca.
• Myanmar's location on the Bay of Bengal makes it an ideal candidate for China to further its maritime ambitions. China is also Myanmar's major defence supplier, a major trading partner, and the second-largest foreign investor in the country.
• The China-Myanmar Economic Corridor (CMEC), a series of infrastructural projects along the China-Myanmar border, is a key component of China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
• These projects are located in conflict areas, highlighting the need for stability. As a result, China has created a significant stake in Myanmar, which puts it in a useful position to leverage its influence and investments to its own advantage.

Alleged Chinese presence in the Coco Islands

• Recent reports have alleged that China has been involved in developing signals intelligence (SIGINT) stations in the Coco Islands, which are located in the eastern Bay of Bengal, just north of the ANI.
• This fresh information has attracted attention and renewed concern because the islands offer a vantage point to Beijing for monitoring, surveilling, and gathering intelligence on maritime movements, particularly India’s naval activities in the IOR, and have the capacity to be used as a launchpad for naval deployments.

Separating Facts from Fiction

• Despite much speculation about China's presence in the Coco Islands, Myanmar has consistently denied any Chinese military involvement and has even invited Indian defence officials to visit Great Coco, confirming the presence of an airstrip but no visible Chinese military presence.
• However, given China's extensive construction activities in the South China Sea and its flurry of activity in and across the IOR, it is reasonable to assume that China has substantive interests in backing the Tatmadaw, Myanmar's military junta, and being involved in these developments.
• Even if Myanmar is carrying out the developments of its own volition, given its unstable internal situation and the lack of any substantial justification for it to be using the Coco Islands from a strategic perspective, India must continue to move forward with expanding its own capacities in the ANI.

Implications for India's Security

• The growing military activities in the Coco Islands and their proximity to the ANI have prompted India to expand its own capacities.
  • India has pushed for upgrading the deterrence capabilities of the tri-service AN Command in anticipation that air defence and air surveillance would follow the infrastructural developments taking place in the Coco Islands.
• India's concerns over China's activities in Myanmar and the IOR are not new. India has been keeping a close eye on China's BRI and its implications for the region's security.
  • India has also been developing its own strategic partnerships with countries in the region, such as Japan, Australia, and the US, to counter China's growing influence.

Conclusion:

• China's expanding maritime ambitions in Myanmar and the alleged developments in the Coco Islands have significant implications for India's security.
• India must continue to move forward with expanding its own capacities in the ANI and building strategic partnerships with like-minded countries to counter China's growing influence.

Source: Observer Research Foundation

Mains Question:

Q. How can India effectively respond to China's expanding maritime ambitions in Myanmar and the alleged developments in the Coco Islands in order to safeguard its security and strategic interests? (150 words).