News that China is considering a Seychelles offer of a base for its ships means a new strategic headache for India’s military planners.
There’s been much talk in the media of an apparent offer by the Seychelles of a base for Chinese ships deployed to the Gulf of Aden and the West Indian Ocean, to help combat piracy. While it’s not yet clear if the offer has been accepted, Chinese media reports suggest that Beijing is actively considering it as a “resupply” base.
China’s Foreign Ministry was quick to state that Beijing isn’t contemplating a military base in for the Seychelles, adding that it wouldn’t “violate” its traditional policy of “not stationing troops abroad.” Still, China's quest for a foothold in the Indian Ocean isn’t a recent development – and it’s one that India needs to watch carefully.
China began pursuing its so-called “String of Pearls” strategy in the Indian Ocean in 2001 via the commercial route, constructing the Gwadar port. Subsequently, China won contracts to construct ports at Hambantota on the southern tip of Sri Lanka, Chittagong in Bangladesh and Kyaukpyu on the east coast of Burma in the Arabian Sea.
The Seychelles is a small island country in the Indian Ocean comprising a group of 115 small islands covering an area about 450 kilometers square. The country has a population of just 87,000, but has a huge Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of 1.4 million square kilometers. The country’s strategic importance can be traced back to the Napoleonic era, when Britain gained control over the island. Much more recently, the U.S. originally intended to develop a base on the Seychelles’ Aldabra Island, but intense pressure from conservationists prevailed, and the United States instead went with Diego Garcia.
China, though, despite having diplomatic relations with the Seychelles dating back to 1976, showed little interest in the country until President Hu Jintao visited in 2007. During Hu’s trip, no less than five bilateral agreements were signed on economic and technical cooperation, education and investment promotion. Hu’s visit for the first time clearly signaled China’s strategic interests in the region.
Last week, Chinese Defense Minister Gen. Liang Guanglie led a 40-member military delegation to the Seychelles – a big enough group to suggest that Beijing is keen to shore up plans for an active presence for the People’s Liberation Army in the near future. As part of developing military ties, China gifted the Seychelles People's Defense Forcestwo Y-12 aircraft for surveillance and anti-piracy duties. China is also reportedly training 50 SPDF soldiers in China as part of a military cooperation agreement signed in 2004.
All of this will be of particular interest to India. India has actively supported the Seychelles by helping train the SPDF, and has provided a Dornier aircraft, two Chetek helicopters (1981 vintage) and a fast attack craft. Indian ships regularly visit Victoria, and have been active in combating piracy in the waters around the Seychelles. The Indian foreign and defense ministers, meanwhile, visited the Seychelles in 2010, underlining the importance New Delhi places on having friendly relations with the country.
With this in mind, it’s clear that the Chinese naval presence in this part of the Indian Ocean is not in India's interest. But what’s China’s interest in establishing a base in the Seychelles?
For a start, it satisfies China’s hunger for a firm foothold in the Indian Ocean. The Seychelles provides the PLA Navy an ideal platform from which to counter any threat to its sea lines of communication from Africa by the U.S. Navy operating out of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean region. In addition, to assist with the resupply, rest and refit of PLAN ships undertaking anti-piracy duties in the region, China requires a large logistics depot, which can be supplied by air and merchant/naval ships. The Seychelles base could therefore eventually be developed into a permanent naval base.
Photo Credit: Olivier Cochard-Labbé
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Sai Kumar
@John Chan
No nation ever wanted Chinese presence in their territory as they regard you as ‘parasites’. Companies pulled up against your country because of your sick imperialist laws. The best example is Brazil. They recently derided that Chinese companies are illegally getting their market share increased in there.
Everyone hates China because of the above mentioned reason. The only friends you have are the North Koreans and Pakistanis. Both of them need you to survive. You even control your currency to benefit your exports. Companies sued you for copy rights breach.
Once you become a democratic country(eventually half a decade later), your country will get perished and will no longer be an economic accelerator for sure.
Tas
India is a desperately poor country where most of the population barely have enough to eat. Posturing on world stage is totally unjustified despite India having 1.2 billion people. India relies on Russian military equipment as it has no reliable indigenous military manufacturing abilities of its own. It can’t even make a tank, let alone a fighter plane!
To compare India with China is pure fantasy land promoted by some Western media like the unreliable BBC. India can be compared to Nigeria, both with comparable needs and aspirations.
One can’t blame the Indians in these pages wanting to fly the flag. Too often they get caught up in a fantasy land. They also fabricate. One even claimed that India was giving Bangladesh a billion dollars! Actually India is trying to improve its primitive rail and road and is trying to get Bangladesh to help it with better communication with North East India. India is being helped with aid from Asian Development Bank on the infrastructure project. All the money is benefiting India and Bangladesh gets nothing. And despite it all India makes a false propaganda claim in the opposite way! India has been begging Bangladesh for help to get Indian Army and goods through its territory. Still negotiations are not complete.
China has nothing to fear as far as India is concerned. The only thing to be feared is that the USA may be making false promises to India. Such false promises may make India lose its way and fall into China’s well planned trap.
Advice to India: You have no friends in the region. If you keep getting guidance
fairies you will be torn apart by your neighbours. Be very scared.
Sravan
None of the rants you made are true
1) India needs Bangladesh help for better communication with North East, that is because of the geography.
2)Indian arms industries have built third generation tanks, nuclear submarine, fighter aircrafts(including a 4th gen Tejas), even indigenious aircraft carriers are underway.
3)Some political parties have used anti-India sentiment for their gains but the civil society, militaries, and majority of genral public have huge respect for India.
4)South Asia has always looked to India on any troublesome situation, and it is no wonder refugees come to India as their respective governmants have failed to protect them and their hope is India.
5)There is no shame in India asking help from Bangladesh, India moved the world for Bangladesh and today if Banladesh is in a state of providing help to India, then why not.
6)Lunatics around India have always tried to break India into pieces, but it never happened even as we faced many trouble stricken situations, because we may whine,fight,ridicule amongst ourselves but we will always remain Indians.
Deb
Adding to what Sravan said -
1. The ‘desperately poor’ country happens to be the 9th largest economy in the world in nominal terms (that is $ Vs. $ if you dind’t get it) and 4th largest in terms of purchasing power parity (that’s spending potential)
2. The economy still grows at a rapid pace, helping lift millions out of poverty each year. But this IS a democracy and the wheel turns slow, but it does turn.
3. We don’t just buy weapons, our deals are big, very BIG. So the sellers are made to offset a percantage of the deal in value in India and tech transfer. This ensures more employment and that the Indian industry learns from the west.
4. We are not perfect. No country is perfect. But India is not what it was 10 years ago. Yes, our adversary has also made huge strides, in fact far longer than our own. But we’re not a feeble military paper tiger. That is also a known fact. A war does not suit either country’s interests but India will give a purple eye and a bloody nose. That has to be reckoned with.
Smiley G
More likely, Seychelles sees New Delhi as a threat than anything else.