By C. Raja Mohan, Indian Express, July 16, 2012
The weekend’s visit to Seychelles
by a top People’s Liberation Army official marks the deepening of the military
relationship between the tiny Indian Ocean island state, and China.
The Deputy Chief of the People’s
Liberation Army, Gen Ma Xiaotian met with President of Seychelles James Michel
on Saturday and reaffirmed China’s commitment to deepen bilateral military
cooperation.
Although Seychelles has close
military and naval cooperation with India and the United States, it has been
quite open to Beijing’s military overtures.
Since the Chinese President Hu
Jintao visited this strategically located Indian Ocean Island state in 2005,
Beijing has made an all out effort to deepen the partnership with Seychelles.
That China had a military and
strategic interest in wooing the island was not difficult to see in Delhi and
Washington. Straddling the sealanes between Africa and China, Seychelles has
acquired a critical importance in the Beijing’s expanding naval profile in the
Indian Ocean.
Since 2010, Chinese naval ships
have been making frequent port calls in Seychelles. China has also transferred
two Y-2 turboprop aircraft to Seychelles to facilitate the maritime
surveillance of its massive 1. 37 sq km of exclusive economic zone in the
Indian Ocean.
Last December, after the first
ever visit by a Chinese defence minister to the island nation, Seychelles
announced that it is to provide resupply facilities for Chinese naval ships
operating in the Indian Ocean.
China, however, sought to
downplay the announcement from Port Victoria. While confirming interest in
acquiring much needed resupply facilities in the Indian Ocean, the foreign
office in Beijing insisted “China has no plans for establishing military bases
abroad.”
While Beijing is keen to prevent
any hostile regional reaction to its growing military presence in the Indian
Ocean, those who study Chinese military strategy see the inevitability of
Beijing acquiring naval bases and military facilities in the Indian Ocean.
They point to the fact that many
Western powers through the last few centuries had established bases in the
Indian Ocean. As one of the world’s largest trading nations and a rising
military power, the analysts argue, China is bound set up a permanent naval
base in the Indian Ocean in the not too distant future.
In the last few years, India has
stepped up its interaction with Seychelles. President Michel has visited India
three times in the last two years and many India’s leaders, including President
Pratibha Patil, have traveled to Seychelles.
Although India’s defence
cooperation with Seychelles has significantly expanded in recent years, it is
not clear if Delhi is really prepared to cope with China’s high stakes naval
diplomacy in the Indian Ocean.
Courtesy: Indian Express
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