A Chinese expert suggested the Chinese government should give more submarines to the Indian Ocean in the face of concerns stated about China’s increasing military presence in the region.
The report reflected China’s concerns over the ongoing Malabar naval exercise involving the US, Japan, and India, which includes more than 100 aircraft and 21 vessels.
China and India have been eyeing each other suspiciously in the Indian Ocean for the last years, and the two countries are currently involved in one of their most serious border incidents in decades.
According to Hu Bo, a researcher at Peking University, China should provide more submarines to the Indian Ocean to make “concerned countries” get used to their existence in that region.
Hu said the just-concluded Malabar naval drill in the Bay of Bengal between India, Japan, and the US reflected that China was being considered as an “imaginary enemy.”
Taking China as the imaginary enemy is a reflection of Cold War mentality, Ocean was a global public product that does not come within the jurisdiction of any single country, he added.
Indian concerned about China’s increasing presence in the Indian Ocean. The US and Japan are both concerned over China flexing its muscles in the world seas.
Zhao said that the geostrategic position of the Indian Ocean has a profound influence on China’s national security and development, adding that sending vessels to the region was usual for the country.
