China Ramps Up Nuclear Presence in Indian Ocean
New satellite photos have revealed a stunning development in China’s naval forces in the Indian Ocean region (IOR). An underground nuclear submarine base on the southern tip of China’s Hainan Province has many in India and throughout the region speculating how this will affect the region’s balance of power.
Asia Times Online has more…
According to reports, commercial satellite images indicate that the Chinese are building a massive strategic naval base on Hainan island, in the South China Sea, south of Hong Kong. This confirms suspicions of several Asian nations since 2002 about the underground submarine base.
A reputed British daily has described the base as a “vast, James Bond-style edifice capable of concealing up to 20 nuclear-powered submarines and which will enable China to project its power across the region”.
Nuclear submarines can remain under water longer than conventional diesel-electric submarines and are thus difficult to detect. They are also capable of firing nuclear warheads.
These recent satellite images have caused alarm in New Delhi and among regional military experts, who understand that China’s military expansion into the IOR sphere will only raise tensions with India who has long dominated the region with naval superiority.
The Times of India assesses the situation…
China and India…are fighting for the same strategic space in the IOR, with the former hugely dependent on the oil shipping sea lanes passing through the region. Much more than Pakistan, Indian defence experts view China as the real long-term military threat.
There is concern over the stark military asymmetry with China, with the latter’s military budget showing straight double-digit hikes for the last two decades.
China, of course, has a very active cruise and ballistic missile programme, which includes the new DF-31 and DF-31A road-mobile intercontinental ballistic missiles.
It’s leagues ahead of India in virtually all aspects of military projects. Take submarines, for instance. To India’s 16 conventional diesel-electric submarines, China has 57 attack submarines, including a dozen of them nuclear ones.
Feeling the Heat
The Times also highlights the strategic Sino-India chess match that China seems to be winning…
Apart from this military imbalance, India remains apprehensive of China’s strategic moves in the region. With its “string of pearls” strategy, China has already encircled India by assiduously forging maritime linkages with eastern Africa, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Myanmar, among other countries.
India has tried to counter this spreading arc of Chinese influence only in recent times by trying to build maritime bridges with countries in the IOR as well as the Asia-Pacific region. Though experts hold that China’s SSBN, ballistic missile and other military programmes are at this point in time primarily directed against any move by the US to intervene in the Taiwan Strait, India will have to keep a close watch on the People’s Liberation Army’s expanding capabilities.
Tags: China, defense, Hainan Province, India, Indian Ocean, nuclear, security
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8 May, 2008 at 6:38 pm
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