Indian Ocean can’t be India’s backyard, says China

Recognising India's special role in stabilising the strategic Indian Ocean region, Chinese military officials and experts have warned that the region is not India's "backyard" and may result in clashes if this perception prevails, as per a PTI report.

"The word backyard is not very appropriate to use for an open sea and international areas of sea," Senior Captain Zhao Yi, associate professor of the Institute of Strategy in China's National Defence University, said during a candid interaction with the resident Indian journalists in Beijing.

"I admit geographically speaking India has a special role to play in stabilising Indian Ocean and the South Asian region," PTI reported, quoting Captain Zhao.

He was replying to a question on rising concerns in India over the Chinese navy's increasing forays into the Indian Ocean.

He further said if India views the Indian Ocean as backyard then how the navies from United States, Russia and Australia have free navigation in the ocean.

Citing the observations of a US researcher who predicted that Indian Ocean could be the focus of 21st century and as a result severe clashes could breakout, Captain Zhao said though he did not agree with American scholar such a possibility cannot be "eliminated" if the Indian Ocean is continued to be perceived as India's backyard.

Chinese navy's increasing presence in the Indian Ocean comes in the background of the release of a White Paper published by the People's Liberation Army (PLA) recently, outlining a new military strategy enhancing its navy's duties for the first time to "open seas protection" far from its shores.

Also the presence of Chinese submarines at Colombo port last year and most recently in Karachi sparked concerns in India.

The interaction between the Indian reporters and a team of Chinese military experts headed by Spokesman of the Chinese Defence Ministry, Senior Colonel Yang Yujun, arranged by the All China Journalists Association was aimed to promote better understanding between the two countries as they seek to forge closer political, military and trade ties.

Elaborating on PLA Navy's activities in Indian Ocean, Zhang Wei, Researcher of the PLA Navy Academic Institute, said since 1985, Chinese navy ships visited many countries in the Indian Ocean region including India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Pakistan.

More Chinese ships are crossing the Indian Ocean as it has become a major pipeline for trade for China, she said.

Also Chinese navy's presence there is to protect the security of sea lines specially against piracy. The PLA navy provided escort services to over 6,000 ships in Gulf of Aden half of them were foreign vessels, Zhang said.

"So I do not agree that the presence of Chinese naval ship is expansion of the Chinese military," Zhang said.

(Image: Reuters)