India, China will now be engaged in new ‘Great Game’ in Indian Ocean

LONDON - A new “Great Game” between China and India for primacy in the Indian Ocean is likely in the coming decades, especially in the wake of India and Sri Lanka taking steps to take their bilateral relationship to the next level.

The Guardian quotes Brahma Chellaney, a professor of strategic studies at Delhi’s Centre for Policy Research, as saying: “China wants to be the pre-eminent power in Asia and whether Asia ends up multi-polar or uni-polar will be determined by what happens in the Indian Ocean.”

“Currently there is a power vacuum there and the Chinese want to fill it,” he added.

Among the deals signed was a 300 million pound loan for the construction of railways to be carried out by companies owned by India’s Ministry of Railways.

Delhi also announced the opening of consulates in Jaffna and Hambantota, where Chinese contractors are building a vast deep water port in a project largely financed by the Chinese government’s lending arm, the Export-Import bank.

“China is building up naval forces and is eager to secure safe bases and anchorage in the Indian Ocean. But India’s position and coastline give a tremendous operational advantage,” Chellaney said.

Though Sri Lankan ministers downplay the extent of Chinese influence, few observers doubt that the Indians have lost ground to their rivals in recent years.

Beijing has already embarked on a major road-building programme in areas north of Colombo, and is helping with the construction of a new power station.

A 140 million pound loan to build a second international airport in the south of the island, seen as crucial to boost the tourist business, has also been agreed.

“India is caught in a strategic quandary regarding Sri Lanka,” said Iskander Rehman at Delhi’s Institute for Defence Studies and Analysis.

“Its sizeable Tamil population means that it feels a natural sense of solidarity with the Tamil civilian population but it knows that if it criticises the government too harshly it may risk losing even more strategic space to the Chinese,” he adds. (ANI)