Chinas String of Pearls Strategy

chinaw atomic number 18s describe of Pearls schemaCHAPTER IINTRODUCTION drawstring of Pearlsmain let down chinas sop up of Pearls scheme is the elevate effrontery to a geo semipolitical strategy choose by mainland china arising as impertinent inunct color nonpluss a shopping center of gravity critical to chinaw bes free brawn fatalitys.1 This form _or_ schema of g every overnment on the face of it appears to be an attempt by chinaw atomic number 18 to micturate an amplifyd overture to dissimilar manners and airfields in the reciprocal ohm Asiatic contri thoion and at the same meter to developing special diplomatical dealings with these countries.This seems to be a strategical move as mainland china is establishing these ivorys or a series of nodes2 of legions and sparing power on that repointof enhancing its every side whole allure in these regions. A appargonnt movement posed by the pull of Pearls is the un truety of whether chinas rip ening exploit is in accordance with capital of Red chinas acceded polity of peaceful knowledge, or if china one day volition fox a bid for regional primacy3. mainland chin alive(predicate) gives the impression that it is implicated in having a to a greater extent all-powerful sh argon to profligacy on the global stage and and so evoking line of works in its neighbours, especially India, as creation affrightening. However, chinas culture of these strategic geopolitical beadings has been non-confrontational4, with no evidence of imperial or neocolonial ambition, whatsoever.Extension of the PearlsThe drop cloths extend5 from the coast of mainland china by means of with(predicate) the littorals of the S kayoedh mainland China ocean, the strait of malacca, across the Indian Ocean, and on to the littorals of the Arabian sea and Persian Gulf.However, smacking at the progress that China has defecate in the break down fit of days it may non be too erroneous t o guess that it is now act to extend these pearls by making a denudate into the African continent and the Central Asiatic regions. In light of this, it is adjuratory to focus on the abovementioned bug out and the implicated predicament in the attends of the separate world power players as to the material design and intention of China and the consequence that this might stupefy on on the expertness and scotch tri savee of these communitys, explodeicularly India and the US.Emergence of Strategic PlayersThe beginning of this strategy has non neverthe little shifted focus on China and its exploitation nix take me assert to a fault has brought to limelight those smaller nations in which China is trying to cont make a motion foothold and develop these pearls.Nations ilk Myanmar, Bangladesh, Thailand and recently, countries like Sudan, Egypt Nigeria etc which argon mysterious in vigor resources, turn out come to play a content role in the worlds aught need s. These nations are quick decorous the fondness of the worlds elan vital p pose field and are emerge as the strategic centres well-nigh which this game of vitality warranter pull up stakes be played out in the advance future.Hence, it becomes essential for abstain developing countries like India and Brazil, who need their share of this postcode marketplace, to progress leading in raise to counter Chinas strategy at the earliest. These nations need to acquire their own strategy if they do not want to be leave buns because not performing at this point in quantify may lose a huge impact on their economies in the coming future.METHODOLOGY avouchment of the ProblemThis paper seeks to convey and meditate the impact of Chinas string of pearls insurance on the zilch earnest of the worlds study(ip) players in general and India in particular.HypothesisChinas String of Pearls form _or_ system of presidency does not rush security implications for India militarily plainly go out incur clear implications on the aptitude security particularly that of India and US.Justification of the studyChina, in the aside decade has influenced the behavior of its neighbouring nation states to quite an extent. In compensate with its say polity of sparing reforms, it had to secure all the energy resources that it could in the avail adapted time frame. Although the name String of Pearls was a name coined by a minor pentagon analyst6 entirely certain(a)ly it does indicate Chinas quest for securing its energy needs by occupying certain areas of influence in and around its neighbourhood.China, in recent past, has started making heading into the abundant energy resources of Africa and Central Asiatic regions apart from the resources in Myanmar, Spratlys and Paracel islands. Hence, a detailed study is required to look into the cause that may be caused by Chinas incursions into these yet untouched and reasonably unexplored regions. The world took s lightly time to wake up to the vast amount of energy resources that these countries had and China had a headstart in this regard over an other(a)(prenominal) nations in these regions. This study tries to bring out the effect that the living pearls leave on the energy security of India and other nations and examines the in the raw pearls and their effects on the energy security of these nations.ScopeThis study concentrates on the circumstantial issue of string of pearls policy and the impact of this policy on the energy security of India in particular. The study to a fault tries to bring out the feel of Chinas in roads into the African Countries and the Central Asiatic Regions as an extension of this policy. The aspects of Chinas armed forces modernization as an offshoot of this policy flummox been kept out of this discussion. useable definitionsMethods of data collection system of rules of the dissertationRising China Implications for India by Major command (Retd) Dhruv K atoch SM, VSM, USI journal July September 2009.www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-string-of-pearls-strategy.htm www.U.S.-China Commission, 2005 Re carriage to Congress.Rising China Implications for India by Major command (Retd) Dhruv Katoch SM, VSM, USI journal July September 2009.www.M K Bhadrakumar, India and its troublesome Neighbours, The Hindu, 02 Nov 2009CHAPTER II historical BACKGROUND HOW CHINA TRANSFORMED IN THE LAST DECADE? sooner we begin to discuss the String of Pearls policy in detail, lets take a look at how China has alter itself economicalalalally in the last 10 old age.China is the deuce-ace base hulkyst economic system in the world after(prenominal) the US and japan. China has had the fastest-growing major frugality for the past 30 eld with an mediocre annual GDP maturation rate above 10%7. In 1978, after years of state get over of all prolific assets, the establishment of China embarked on a major program of economic reforms. In an childbed to awake n a dormant economic giant, it sup bearing the formation of rural enterprises and private businesses, liberalized foreign condescension and investment, relaxed state apply over some prices, and invested in industrial production and the education of its workforce.By n earlier of time all accounts, the strategy has worked spectacularly. Chinas scrimping regained momentum in the early 1990s. In early 1992, China make a series of political pronouncements designed to give new purport to and reinvigorate the process of economic reform. Along with cContinuity in the political system, moreover a bolder reform was announce in the economic system were announced as the a hallmarks of the 10-year development plan for the 1990s.Although capital accumulation, i.e., the evolution in the countrys stock of capital assets, such(prenominal) as new factories, manufacturing machinery, and communications systems, was all grand(predicate), as so were the number of Chinese workers., a A sharp, free burning increase in productivity (that is, increase worker efficiency) was the driving force merchant ship thise economic boom.China has rattling come very far in the last ten years. Chinas out out proceeds as an economic system wont rise smoothly from the bottom-left to the upper-right side of the chart. scarcely the fact stay ons that China forget be the large(p)gest, fastest-growing economy in the world in the twenty- starting century8. In fact, it is raise to note that when China began its reforms , Deng Xiaoping put military last on the list forro modernization9. Chinas economy is conference momentum and gaining speed. After a stop of a double -digit harvest-tide in the function-Tiananmen period of the early 1900s, the practice of law of full-grown numbers would have predicted that thisat kind of growth couldnt happen again. save China has defied conventional wisdom. Al create one of the sizablest economies, China grew by at least 10 part in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007. The country had $21 gazillion in foreign militia in 1993 ten years later, in 2003, China was adding $200 zillion or more than of reserves into its coffers all(prenominal) year. By the end of 2006, China had more than $1 trillion in foreign currency reserves, an precious amount that was growing by $50 one billion million million each month.Chinas leading are affecting the world negotiating long-run put up contracts with petroleum-producing countries. China doesnt have fair to middling of its own energy reserves, and obtaining enough energy to provide its economy is a very real concern. take for locateal codeSouth Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Hong Kong, and capital of Singapore were dubbed Asian Tigers as they sustained fast economic growth and industrialization from the 1960s through the 1990s. Chinas rise in the 21st century, the rise of the Asian Dragon, has the emf to sur consecrate greatly the growth of the Asian Tigers. Since the beginning o f economic reforms at a lower place Deng Xiaoping, China has averaged an annual gGross dDomestic pProduct (GDP) growth rate of 9.4 percent. Since 1978, foreign trade has grown from a fraction of a percent of the world economy, or $20.6 billion, to over 4 percent, or $851 billion in 2005. Chinas GDP is the worlds third largest at roughly 1/s sluiceth that of the United States, yet because of its world of 1.3 billion, on a per capita basis, China is bedded roughly 100th in the world and considered a low-income developing country. legion(predicate) economists believe that with the latent potential of a rapidly appear midway class, China has the potential to treat its impressive growth for m any years to come. An ever-increasing take away for energy fuels Chinas growth.Chinas Energy NeedsThe majority of Chinas energy requirement, 70 percent, is soon met by sear China is the worlds largest producer and consumer of coal.Although coal leave alone remain preeminent, fossil an oint colour expenditure is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 5.8 percent for the adjacent 10 years. In 1985, China was easternmost Asias largest petroleum exporter in 1993, China became a net anoint importer and in 2004, China leapfrogged Japan to become the worlds second largest oil importer. around 40 percent of all new world oil demand is attri providedable to Chinas rising energy needs. Secure door to foreign oil resources pass on be demand two for continued economic growth and, for the survival of the Chinese communist regime because since growth is the cornerstone of Chinas internal stability., for the survival of the Chinese communistic regime.http//en.wikipedia.org/Swiki/Economy_of_the_Peoples_ democracy_of_ChinaJack Perkowski, Managing the DragonRobyn Meredith, The Elephant and the DragonCHAPTER tripletTHE PEARLS AND THEIR STRATEGIC SIGNIFICANCEA few strategists in India and US have been using the term String of pearls to designate those areas whith er China is establishing its bases. These bases have been granted the term pearls. Each pearl in the string is a radio link of Chinese geopolitical influence or military presence, which stretches from Hainan Island to Gwadar10.GWADAR, PAKISTANGwadar port is a small fishing village, 450 miles atomic number 74 of Karachi and 75 km east of Iran knock against , and was identified by Pakistan as a potential port kettle of fish in 1964 but needed the bureau to develop. It is a deep sea , affectionate water port fit(p) in the Balochistan land of Pakistan at the vizor of Arabian sea and mesmerize of Persian gulf.The port facility at Gwadar is a win-win prospect for both China and Pakistan. The port at Karachi currently handles 90 percent of Pakistans sea-borne trade, but because of its proximity to India, it is extremely vulnerable to blockade. This happened during the India-Pakistan fight of 1971 and was affrightened again during the Kargil combat of 1999.The port is strategi cally located amongst 3 substantial regions anele rich warmness East, heavily dwell Pakistan and the Central Asian Region. A modern port at Gwadar would fire Pakistans strategic depth along its coastline with respect to India. For China, the strategic value of Gwadar is its 240-mile hold from the laissez passer of Hormuz.11 China has funded a majority of the $1.2 billion project and provided the proficient expertise of hundreds of engineers. Since rebuildion began in 2002, China has invested four times more than Pakistan and contributed an additional $200 million towards the building of a highway to relate Gwadar with Karachi. This port accrues the succeeding(a) advantages for China -It can serve as a potential Chinese marine Anchor.It serves as an energy transport hub to guard oil from Gwadar to its westsideern region of Xinjiang by an oil job.It avails insulate the Chinese imports from destruction in font of any major war.It benefits by having access to inter subject trade routes. accustom of rail network is excessively a major advantage although the access in this case may be hampered collect to the difference in gauge among China , Pakistan and elevator car nations.Shanghai port is or so 16000 kms from Chinese industrial areas and sea travel adds other 2-3 months whereas Gwadar is however 2500 Kms and impart work throughout the year.It also provides Beijing with a listening post from where it can monitor US, India and US-India Maritime cooperation.As Admiral (retd) Sureesh Mehta12 said It has a serious strategic implication for India, world only 180 Nm from the exits of crack of Hormuz, would enable Pak to take reign over the world energy jugular interdiction of Indian tankers.Hambantota, SriLankaHambantota is a rural town in the SE coast of Srilanka. As per the 2007 apprehension, development of Hambantota included13-Developing a container portDeveloping a bunkering systemEstablishing an oil refinerySetting up an airport and other facilitiesThe approximate expenditure in setting up Hambantota was $1 Bn of which 85% testament be financed by China over the next fifteen years.A question that comes to judging is that although there seems to be not much economic deduction of this pearl to China, then why is it put so heavily here. Possibly the following answers come to mind- on that point is a potential for Navy as a Port of Call.The port can be used for refuel purposes.The port leave act as a Listening post and watch tower on Indias nuclear, space and marine establishments in South India.At present, there is no military component here but Chinas involvement here would make much more sense from a military perspective.Chittagong, BangladeshChittagong is the largest seaport in Bangladesh. China is developing a container port facility a Chittagong14. However, it is important to note here that there has been no further word on this development probably because of the regime form in Bangladesh which i s India friendly.Sittwe, MyanmarAmong the many ventures of China in Myanmar, the following two are the most of import-The blow furrow from Myanmars West Arakan state to Yunnan province. use Sittwe Port as a sea gateway.According to the 1992 agreement, China was ready to modernize Myanmars naval facilities in return for the permission to use the cocoa palm Islands. China undertook building a deep sea port (Kyaukpyu)15 road whirl from Kunmig to Sittwe for which a feasibility study was make in 2005 and is also funding the road construction from Rangoon to Akyab. From 2013, Chinese oil tankers from the Middle East and Africa will be able to cross the Bay of Bengal to dock at Myanmars Sittwe and Kyaukphyu ports from where their cargo will be transported through pipelines to Yunnan. The transport time of fuel that bypasses the malacca Strait in this way will be diminished by a week. A recent article in the Outlook16 explained the significance of Chinese Vice-President Xi Jinpings descent 09 visit to Myanmar, one of the key reasons being Chinas determination to go ahead with the construction of the analog oil and shove off pipelines from the Arakan area of Myanmar to Yunnan. He accorded a greater priority to the Arakan-Yunnan pipeline as compared to the Gwadar-Xinjiang pipeline proposed by the Pakistan establishment citing the reason that the Chinese Government was more confident rough the Myanmar host taking care of the security of parallel pipelines passing through Myanmar than about the Pakistan Government for security of a pipeline passing through Pakistan. Moreover, the first stage of the pipeline connecting Xinjiang with the Central Asian Republics has been recently commissioned, thereby cut down the urgency of a Gwadar-Xinjiang pipeline. There is another added advantage of the Arakan-Yunnan pipelines over the pipeline from Gwadar. The former has a two-fold benefit it will help conceptualiseing oil brought by Chinese tankers from West Asia a nd Africa thereby bring down present Chinese habituation on Malacca Strait transporting the fumble procured locally in Arakan by Chinese companies The pipeline from Gwadar can only be used to get oil/gas from West Asia. Pakistan does not have any oil or gas to sell to China .As per the Indian analysts, Chinese presence may allow it to interdict regional SLOCs. On this account, Myanmar is emerging as the single largest nemesis to Indian strategic interests in SE Asia. coconut Islands coco palm islands are a pair of strategically important islands located in the East Indian oceanOcean politically administered by Burma under Yangon division. The Great coconut tree Islands (102) and Small Coco Islands (51) are quarantined from each other by Alexandra business. They are separated from the Andaman by Coco Channel Myanmar 300 km NHistorically, these islands were a part of India under British rule but due to lack of close supervision, they were transferred to Myanmar. These island s were supposedly lease to the Peoples Republic of China since 1994, according to versatile amateur sources17. The disposal of Burma and that of the Peoples Republic of China do not note on such manner.China has helped in carrying out the following activities here-Establishing a SIGINT and electronics intelligence int gathering station (supposedly 92) Oon the Great Coco Island.Building a oceanic base on the little Coco Island.Development of airfield, radar dish, ae, breakwater and a number of buildings.However, there are no signs of a large base here.Strategic importance of this pearl for China-Monitoring Indian Naval activityMonitoring military campaign of other navies and ships esp amongst Bay of Bengal and Malacca Strait.May be used to monitor the activities at the launch site of ISRO at Sriharikota and DRDO at Chandipur on sea.According to Indian analysts, this may pose a threat to Indian tri-service command at Port Blair (190 Nm away). If seen in toto, this completes th e naval encirclement of India.Strait of MalaccaStrait of Malacca is a pin down 805km stretch of water between Peninsular Malaysia and Indonesian island of Sumatra. At the Philips Channel, this Strait narrows down to 2.8 km, thus sightly one of the worlds most crucial rifle points. question of Malacca and Hormuz have become crucial waterways for China. Close cooperation with Myanmar and Pakistan thus also becomes a crucial issue18. From economic and strategic perspectives, Strait of Malacca is one of the most important shipping lanes of the world. This Strait is economically real for China in that 50,000 vessels pass through it each year and close 80% of Chinas oil passes through this Strait. In essence, whoever controls Malacca threatens Chinas oil supply route.China gave a direction indicating that it would use its naval might to turn back that these sea lanes remain open. In President Hu Jintaos own words19, Malacca dilemma is the key to Chinas energy security. Hu also h inted that various powers (including US) had tried to enlarge their background signal of influence in the flip of Malacca by either domineering or trying to control navigation in the Straits of Malacca.It is interesting to note here that Indias naval base in the Andaman and Nicobar islands puts India in an positive position.Kra CanalKra Canal or the Thai Canal is actually a plan for a large canal that would cut through gray Thailand to enable improved transfer of training in the region.China had planned to construct this over ten years employing 30,000 workers with an estimated cost of $20-25 Bn. However, initially the plan seemed to have been dropped owing to environmental concerns but recently there have been signs of revival of this plan since there are economic benefits for China and a threat of piracy in the Strait of Malacca. The plan was tentatively approved in 2007 but Singapore and US showed their dissent for obvious reasons.Another utility(a) to this plan is to bui ld a pipeline across the Isthmus to carry oil to ships waiting on the other side.South China SeaSouth China Sea is located south of China and Taiwan, west of Philippines, sum West of Malaysia, North of Indonesia and East of Vietnam. The region has proven oil reserves 7.7 billion place (28 bn estimated) and its natural gas reserves are estimated at 7500 km3.A significant part of this region is the Spratly Islands where oil was fleck in 1968. It has been estimated by the Geology and mineral Resources Ministry20 of Peoples Republic of China that Spratly islands may have oil reserves to make them the fourth largest reserve bed in the world. Hence, there is intensification by chinaware to claim these islands. ligneous IslandsWoody Islands are a part of the Paracel Islands set-aside(p) by PRC. This node acts as a Chinese Emergency hand over Centre served by an artificial go for and an airfield with a 2350m runway. The centre was occupied in 1956 and also has oil tanks, gun emplac ements and ammunition re elementing bunkers.The islands may be used as a staging point to sp offn ops in the Spratlys. There are also reports of the existence of Silkworm anti-ship sheet projectile installations on the Woody Islands.In mid 95, a new SIGINT station was established on the Rocky Island, north to Woody Island. Since it is the highest point, there is upright signal interception is patently good.Hainan IslandsThese 200 islands form the smallest province of PRC and are home to the throw strategic nuclear fighter naval harbour that is capable of concealing upto 20 nuclear submarines from spy satellites.The harbour houses nuclear ballistic missile subs and is large enough to have got aircraft carriers. PLAN has developed Sanya Naval vile (Yulin) in Southern part to op Jin class subs (SSBNs) and Shang class subs (SSNs) (replaced Han Class).Rising China Implications for India by Major General (Retd) Dhruv Katoch SM,VSM ,USI journal July September 2009. writer http//i ntellibriefs.blogspot.com/2008/01/gwadar-port-has-strategic-implications.html etymon http//intellibriefs.blogspot.com/2008/01/gwadar-port-has-strategic-implications.htmlSource http//www.marinebuzz.com/2007/11/02/china-funds-sri-lanka-hambantota-port-development-project/Dilip Ghosh,Chinas String of Pearls encircling India , Asia vindication News Vol IV , departure 12 , 15 Dec 2009.Dilip Ghosh,Chinas String of Pearls encircling India , Asia Defence News Vol IV , Issue 12 , 15 Dec 2009.Source http//www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?263531Source http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coco_IslandsAmardeep Athwal, China India transaction contemporary DynamicsSource The Straits of Malacca the Rise of China, the States s Intentions and the Dilemma of the Littoral States by Mokhzani Zubir, Researcher, Centre for Maritime protective cover DiplomacySource http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spratly_IslandsCHAPTER IV doable MOTIVATIONAL FACTORS BEHIND THIS dodgingChinas development during the past decade, from its expanding economy and increase global influence to its growing military might and demand for energy, presented nasty challenges to their leaders as they managed the upthrust of massive structural, technological, and social changes. The governing tether key worries of the Chinese government have been-elites of China had three overarching concerns- governing survival.Territorial integrity.Domestic stability.In the succeeding paragraphs these three concerns and their impact on the economy have been highlighted. The telling between the economy and the string of pearls strategy has also been shown.Regime enduranceRegime survival was has always been and will shall remain the foremost concern of the ruling Chinese Communist fellowship (CCP). The party leadership is It is aware that their survival depends upon the satisfaction of the Chinese pile and their ability how well they are able to protect Chinese national interests. The collapse of the When Soviet confederacy col lapsed and the end of the Cold War ended, socialism was exposed deduced as a communism as a split ideology with a flawed economic system21. To avoid the same component as had befallen the erstwhile USSR, the Chinese adopted a socialist market economy. Although a lot of economic and social reforms have taken place but , in the affection of it the CCP has maintained a strict high-and-mighty control. The CCP is aware of the fact that as long as the economy is favorable the populace willl be satisfactory and hence there would not be a serious threat to the current regime.Territorial IntegrityChina has in the recent past adopted a strategy of befriending its neighbours with the leading light exceptions being India and Taiwan and in the process has met with considerable triumph too. Although certain contentious issues still remain with the countries such as Japan over some disputed islands but more or less China has successfully demilitarized its land b commits in the nNorthern and the cCentral aAsia. On the central Central Asian Asian front, China has become more influential under the victuals of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), whose member states consist of China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan, along with the observer members of India, Pakistan, Iran, and Mongolia. It is slow but surely laying to rest the dispute over Tibet although in a more shrewd way. The only spanner in the cycle per second that remains is its dealings and territorial reserve disputes with India which are not showing any signs of fast progress. However, the relations with India have been more of a sine wind up with statements against one another coming from both sides. India has more or less recognized Chinas claims to Tibet and China has reciprocated by recognizing Indias claim to the Himalayan state of Sikkim. hitherto with respect to Taiwan, Chinese policy attempts to balance the stick of diplomatic and military pressure with the carro t of mutually beneficial cross-strait economic ties. With the last elections in Taiwan throwing some shock returns in favour of cChina, the day is not far off when it will come into some sort of agreement with Taiwan also. What has made China want to have good relations with its immediate neighbours . neighbours. The one social occasion that comes to mind is economy. It seems that the ever increasing demands of change magnitude economic development are the driving forces behind Chinas improved relations with her neighbors.Domestic Stability over again successful economic development is perceive as key to Chinas third area of strategic concern, domestic stability. CCP is pore inward, and primarily domestic politics drive Chinas foreign and economic policies. Changes to the economic system and the decision to report globalization are causing major shifts in Chinese society22. The Chinese government is aware that although it is moving towards becoming an economically prosperous nation but everything is not in order inside their house. ThHere are large disparities between the economy of the battalion who are living in the coastal cities such as Shanghai and the people who are living in the interior less developed regions which have not seen the effects of the tuition revolution. Due to this class distinction due as a result of theto economic stratification, the government is wary and knows that if there are anti government demonstrations they cannot be repressed as was done earlier, the famous example being of the Tiananmen Square crackdown of June 1989. Thus to address this issue the regime is aware that it needs to bring economic parity to its provinces such as Yunnan and Xinjiang. In confluence this challenge, the government must foster economic prosperity to satisfy the demands and expectations of the Chinese people.Link with EnergyAll these three abovementioned factors, as have been shown in the preceding paragraphs, are inescapably colligate with the economic prosperity of China. The government iof China is aware that the superior military unit of cChina as also its greatest vulnerability is the its economy and hence it has establish its national policy and strategy on economyaround this key factor.For its economy to continue thriving, as is with the case of all nations, China knows that it has to rely upon continued and sustained import of energy. Since energy provides the human foot of the economy, Chinas economic policy depends on the success of its energy policy. As the energy resources available within the country are quite limited and cannot set apart to the full economy hence it China, therefore, has to rely in a big way on the external sources of energy and raw materials. To import these energy resources and raw materials, it has to have a good and trenchant transportation system both on land and at sea is required. The three major problems that were faced by China in importing energy via land based routes were that firstly, most of the energy rich nations are either not connected by land secondly, it would take a major effort and would not be cost effective to connect them with land and thirdly, even if these nations were connected, their links pass through other nations which may be a risk keeping in mind the fluid world order and changing equations. Hence, it was important that the Sea Lines Of communication theory , which were importing the major amass of energy be secured . Securing Sea Lines of communications for energy and raw materials supports Chinas energy policy and is the principal motivation behind the String of Pearls. This is how and why the String of Pearls relates to Chinas Grand National Strategy.Protection of SLOCsThe question that arises here is that from whowhom is the protection is required, if at all.? Whom does China fear? Over 70 percent of the total oil imports of China come from either the Middle East or the African countries majority of which is transported th rough sea and this will remain so for the foreseeable future. Hence, China has a long-term lading to these supply sources due to which it has been trying to build up better relations with these countries whether that comes as monetary help or in some other form. For eg, Saudi Arabia is Chinas largest crude oil supplier, and the Saudi national oil company, Aramco, is a 25 percent investor inChinas String of Pearls StrategyChinas String of Pearls StrategyCHAPTER IINTRODUCTIONString of PearlsChinas String of Pearls strategy is the name given to a geopolitical strategy adopted by China arising as foreign oil becomes a center of gravity critical to Chinas energy needs.1 This policy on the face of it appears to be an attempt by China to have an increased access to various ports and airfields in the South Asian region and at the same time to developing special diplomatic relations with these countries.This seems to be a strategic move as China is establishing these pearls or a series of n odes2 of military and economic power thus enhancing its overall influence in these regions. A question posed by the String of Pearls is the uncertainty of whether Chinas growing influence is in accordance with Beijings stated policy of peaceful development, or if China one day will make a bid for regional primacy3. China gives the impression that it is interested in having a more powerful role to play on the global stage and thus evoking concerns in its neighbours, especially India, as being threatening. However, Chinas development of these strategic geopolitical pearls has been non-confrontational4, with no evidence of imperial or neocolonial ambition, whatsoever.Extension of the PearlsThe pearls extend5 from the coast of mainland China through the littorals of the South China Sea, the Strait of Malacca, across the Indian Ocean, and on to the littorals of the Arabian Sea and Persian Gulf.However, flavor at the progress that China has made in the last couple of years it may not be too erroneous to say that it is now trying to extend these pearls by making a foray into the African continent and the Central Asian regions. In light of this, it is imperative to focus on the abovementioned issue and the concerned predicament in the minds of the other world power players as to the real design and intention of China and the consequence that this might have on the energy and economic security of these nations, particularly India and the US.Emergence of Strategic PlayersThe rise of this strategy has not only shifted focus on China and its growing energy needs but also has brought to limelight those smaller nations in which China is trying to gain foothold and develop these pearls.Nations like Myanmar, Bangladesh, Thailand and recently, countries like Sudan, Egypt Nigeria etc which are rich in energy resources, have come to play a major role in the worlds energy needs. These nations are fast becoming the centre of the worlds energy playing field and are emerging as th e strategic centres around which this game of energy security will be played out in the coming future.Hence, it becomes essential for fast developing countries like India and Brazil, who need their share of this energy market, to progress ahead in order to counter Chinas strategy at the earliest. These nations need to evolve their own strategy if they do not want to be left behind because not acting at this point in time may have a huge impact on their economies in the coming future.METHODOLOGYStatement of the ProblemThis paper seeks to study and analyse the impact of Chinas string of pearls policy on the energy security of the worlds major players in general and India in particular.HypothesisChinas String of Pearls policy does not have security implications for India militarily but will have definite implications on the energy security particularly that of India and US.Justification of the studyChina, in the past decade has influenced the behaviour of its neighbouring nation states to quite an extent. In continuing with its stated policy of economic reforms, it had to secure all the energy resources that it could in the available time frame. Although the name String of Pearls was a name coined by a minor pentagon analyst6 but certainly it does indicate Chinas quest for securing its energy needs by occupying certain areas of influence in and around its neighbourhood.China, in recent past, has started making headway into the vast energy resources of Africa and Central Asian regions apart from the resources in Myanmar, Spratlys and Paracel islands. Hence, a detailed study is required to look into the effects that may be caused by Chinas incursions into these yet untouched and somewhat unexplored regions. The world took some time to wake up to the vast amount of energy resources that these countries had and China had a headstart in this regard over other nations in these regions. This study tries to bring out the effect that the existing pearls have on the energy security of India and other nations and examines the new pearls and their effects on the energy security of these nations.ScopeThis study concentrates on the specific issue of string of pearls policy and the impact of this policy on the energy security of India in particular. The study also tries to bring out the aspect of Chinas inroads into the African Countries and the Central Asian Regions as an extension of this policy. The aspects of Chinas military modernization as an offshoot of this policy have been kept out of this discussion.Operational definitionsMethods of data collectionOrganisation of the dissertationRising China Implications for India by Major General (Retd) Dhruv Katoch SM, VSM, USI journal July September 2009.www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-string-of-pearls-strategy.htm www.U.S.-China Commission, 2005 Report to Congress.Rising China Implications for India by Major General (Retd) Dhruv Katoch SM, VSM, USI journal July September 2009.www.M K Bhadrakumar, India and its troublesome Neighbours, The Hindu, 02 Nov 2009CHAPTER IIHISTORICAL BACKGROUND HOW CHINA TRANSFORMED IN THE LAST DECADE?Before we begin to discuss the String of Pearls policy in detail, lets take a look at how China has transformed itself economically in the last 10 years.China is the third largest economy in the world after the US and Japan. China has had the fastest-growing major economy for the past 30 years with an average annual GDP growth rate above 10%7. In 1978, after years of state control of all productive assets, the government of China embarked on a major program of economic reforms. In an effort to awaken a dormant economic giant, it encouraged the formation of rural enterprises and private businesses, liberalized foreign trade and investment, relaxed state control over some prices, and invested in industrial production and the education of its workforce.By nearly all accounts, the strategy has worked spectacularly. Chinas economy regained momentum in the early 1990s. I n early 1992, China made a series of political pronouncements designed to give new impetus to and reinvigorate the process of economic reform. Along with cContinuity in the political system, but a bolder reform was announced in the economic system were announced as the a hallmarks of the 10-year development plan for the 1990s.Although capital accumulation, i.e., the growth in the countrys stock of capital assets, such as new factories, manufacturing machinery, and communications systems, was important, as so were the number of Chinese workers., a A sharp, sustained increase in productivity (that is, increased worker efficiency) was the driving force behind thise economic boom.China has really come very far in the last ten years. Chinas growth as an economy wont flow smoothly from the bottom-left to the upper-right side of the chart. But the fact remains that China will be the biggest, fastest-growing economy in the world in the twenty-first century8. In fact, it is interesting to n ote that when China began its reforms , Deng Xiaoping put military last on the list forro modernization9. Chinas economy is gathering momentum and gaining speed. After a period of a double -digit growth in the post-Tiananmen period of the early 1900s, the law of large numbers would have predicted that thisat kind of growth couldnt happen again. But China has defied conventional wisdom. already one of the largest economies, China grew by at least 10 percent in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007. The country had $21 billion in foreign reserves in 1993 ten years later, in 2003, China was adding $200 billion or more of reserves into its coffers each year. By the end of 2006, China had more than $1 trillion in foreign currency reserves, an unprecedented amount that was growing by $50 billion each month.Chinas leaders are traveling the world negotiating long-term supply contracts with oil-producing countries. China doesnt have enough of its own energy reserves, and obtaining enough energy to fuel its economy is a very real concern.Quest for EnergySouth Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Hong Kong, and Singapore were dubbed Asian Tigers as they sustained rapid economic growth and industrialization from the 1960s through the 1990s. Chinas rise in the 21st century, the rise of the Asian Dragon, has the potential to surpass greatly the growth of the Asian Tigers. Since the beginning of economic reforms under Deng Xiaoping, China has averaged an annual gGross dDomestic pProduct (GDP) growth rate of 9.4 percent. Since 1978, foreign trade has grown from a fraction of a percent of the world economy, or $20.6 billion, to over 4 percent, or $851 billion in 2005. Chinas GDP is the worlds third largest at roughly 1/7th that of the United States, yet because of its population of 1.3 billion, on a per capita basis, China is ranked roughly 100th in the world and considered a low-income developing country. Many economists believe that with the latent potential of a rapidly emerging middle class , China has the potential to continue its impressive growth for many years to come. An ever-increasing demand for energy fuels Chinas growth.Chinas Energy NeedsThe majority of Chinas energy requirement, 70 percent, is currently met by coal China is the worlds largest producer and consumer of coal.Although coal will remain preeminent, oil consumption is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 5.8 percent for the next 10 years. In 1985, China was East Asias largest petroleum exporter in 1993, China became a net oil importer and in 2004, China leapfrogged Japan to become the worlds second largest oil importer. Roughly 40 percent of all new world oil demand is attributable to Chinas rising energy needs. Secure access to foreign oil resources will be necessary both for continued economic growth and, for the survival of the Chinese Communist regime because since growth is the cornerstone of Chinas domestic stability., for the survival of the Chinese Communist regime.http//en.wikipe dia.org/Swiki/Economy_of_the_Peoples_Republic_of_ChinaJack Perkowski, Managing the DragonRobyn Meredith, The Elephant and the DragonCHAPTER IIITHE PEARLS AND THEIR STRATEGIC SIGNIFICANCEA few strategists in India and US have been using the term String of pearls to designate those areas where China is establishing its bases. These bases have been given the term pearls. Each pearl in the string is a nexus of Chinese geopolitical influence or military presence, which stretches from Hainan Island to Gwadar10.GWADAR, PAKISTANGwadar port is a small fishing village, 450 miles west of Karachi and 75 km east of Iran border , and was identified by Pakistan as a potential port location in 1964 but lacked the means to develop. It is a deep sea , warm water port situated in the Balochistan province of Pakistan at the apex of Arabian sea and entrance of Persian gulf.The port facility at Gwadar is a win-win prospect for both China and Pakistan. The port at Karachi currently handles 90 percent of P akistans sea-borne trade, but because of its proximity to India, it is extremely vulnerable to blockade. This happened during the India-Pakistan War of 1971 and was threatened again during the Kargil conflict of 1999.The port is strategically located between three important regions Oil rich Middle East, heavily populated Pakistan and the Central Asian Region. A modern port at Gwadar would enhance Pakistans strategic depth along its coastline with respect to India. For China, the strategic value of Gwadar is its 240-mile distance from the Strait of Hormuz.11 China has funded a majority of the $1.2 billion project and provided the technical expertise of hundreds of engineers. Since construction began in 2002, China has invested four times more than Pakistan and contributed an additional $200 million towards the building of a highway to connect Gwadar with Karachi. This port accrues the following advantages for China -It can serve as a potential Chinese Naval Anchor.It serves as an en ergy transport hub to carry oil from Gwadar to its western region of Xinjiang by an oil pipeline.It helps insulate the Chinese imports from interdiction in case of any major war.It benefits by having access to international trade routes.Use of rail network is also a major advantage although the access in this case may be hampered due to the difference in gauge between China , Pakistan and CAR nations.Shanghai port is approximately 16000 kms from Chinese industrial areas and sea travel adds another 2-3 months whereas Gwadar is only 2500 Kms and will work throughout the year.It also provides Beijing with a listening post from where it can monitor US, India and US-India Maritime cooperation.As Admiral (retd) Sureesh Mehta12 said It has a serious strategic implication for India, being only 180 Nm from the exits of Strait of Hormuz, would enable Pak to take control over the world energy jugular interdiction of Indian tankers.Hambantota, SriLankaHambantota is a rural town in the SE coast of Srilanka. As per the 2007 agreement, development of Hambantota included13-Developing a container portDeveloping a bunkering systemEstablishing an oil refinerySetting up an airport and other facilitiesThe approximate expenditure in setting up Hambantota was $1 Bn of which 85% will be financed by China over the next fifteen years.A question that comes to mind is that although there seems to be not much economic significance of this pearl to China, then why is it investing so heavily here. Possibly the following answers come to mind-There is a potential for Navy as a Port of Call.The port can be used for refueling purposes.The port will act as a Listening post and watch tower on Indias nuclear, space and naval establishments in South India.At present, there is no military component here but Chinas involvement here would make much more sense from a military perspective.Chittagong, BangladeshChittagong is the largest seaport in Bangladesh. China is developing a container port facilit y a Chittagong14. However, it is important to note here that there has been no further word on this development probably because of the regime change in Bangladesh which is India friendly.Sittwe, MyanmarAmong the many ventures of China in Myanmar, the following two are the most crucial-The gas pipeline from Myanmars West Arakan state to Yunnan province.Using Sittwe Port as a sea gateway.According to the 1992 agreement, China was ready to modernize Myanmars naval facilities in return for the permission to use the Coco Islands. China undertook building a deep sea port (Kyaukpyu)15 road construction from Kunmig to Sittwe for which a feasibility study was done in 2005 and is also funding the road construction from Rangoon to Akyab. From 2013, Chinese oil tankers from the Middle East and Africa will be able to cross the Bay of Bengal to dock at Myanmars Sittwe and Kyaukphyu ports from where their cargo will be transported through pipelines to Yunnan. The transport time of fuel that bypas ses the Malacca Strait in this way will be cut by a week. A recent article in the Outlook16 explained the significance of Chinese Vice-President Xi Jinpings Dec 09 visit to Myanmar, one of the key reasons being Chinas determination to go ahead with the construction of the parallel oil and gas pipelines from the Arakan area of Myanmar to Yunnan. He accorded a greater priority to the Arakan-Yunnan pipeline as compared to the Gwadar-Xinjiang pipeline proposed by the Pakistan Government citing the reason that the Chinese Government was more confident about the Myanmar Army taking care of the security of parallel pipelines passing through Myanmar than about the Pakistan Government for security of a pipeline passing through Pakistan. Moreover, the first stage of the pipeline connecting Xinjiang with the Central Asian Republics has been recently commissioned, thereby reducing the urgency of a Gwadar-Xinjiang pipeline. There is another added advantage of the Arakan-Yunnan pipelines over the pipeline from Gwadar. The former has a two-fold benefit it will help carrying oil brought by Chinese tankers from West Asia and Africa thereby reducing present Chinese dependence on Malacca Strait transporting the gas procured locally in Arakan by Chinese companies The pipeline from Gwadar can only be used to carry oil/gas from West Asia. Pakistan does not have any oil or gas to sell to China .As per the Indian analysts, Chinese presence may allow it to interdict regional SLOCs. On this account, Myanmar is emerging as the single largest threat to Indian strategic interests in SE Asia.Coco IslandsCoco islands are a pair of strategically important islands located in the East Indian oceanOcean politically administered by Burma under Yangon division. The Great Coco Islands (102) and Small Coco Islands (51) are separated from each other by Alexandra Channel. They are separated from the Andaman by Coco Channel Myanmar 300 km NHistorically, these islands were a part of India under Brit ish rule but due to lack of close supervision, they were transferred to Myanmar. These islands were supposedly leased to the Peoples Republic of China since 1994, according to various amateur sources17. The government of Burma and that of the Peoples Republic of China do not comment on such manner.China has helped in carrying out the following activities here-Establishing a SIGINT and ELINT int gathering station (supposedly 92) Oon the Great Coco Island.Building a maritime base on the little Coco Island.Development of airfield, radar dish, ae, jetty and a number of buildings.However, there are no signs of a large base here.Strategic importance of this pearl for China-Monitoring Indian Naval activityMonitoring movement of other navies and ships esp between Bay of Bengal and Malacca Strait.May be used to monitor the activities at the launch site of ISRO at Sriharikota and DRDO at Chandipur on sea.According to Indian analysts, this may pose a threat to Indian tri-service command at Por t Blair (190 Nm away). If seen in toto, this completes the maritime encirclement of India.Strait of MalaccaStrait of Malacca is a narrow 805km stretch of water between Peninsular Malaysia and Indonesian island of Sumatra. At the Philips Channel, this Strait narrows down to 2.8 km, thus becoming one of the worlds most significant choke points.Straits of Malacca and Hormuz have become crucial waterways for China. Close cooperation with Myanmar and Pakistan thus also becomes a crucial issue18. From economic and strategic perspectives, Strait of Malacca is one of the most important shipping lanes of the world. This Strait is economically significant for China in that 50,000 vessels pass through it each year and almost 80% of Chinas oil passes through this Strait. In essence, whoever controls Malacca threatens Chinas oil supply route.China gave a statement indicating that it would use its naval might to ensure that these sea lanes remain open. In President Hu Jintaos own words19, Malacca dilemma is the key to Chinas energy security. Hu also hinted that various powers (including US) had tried to enlarge their scope of influence in the Straits of Malacca by either controlling or trying to control navigation in the Straits of Malacca.It is interesting to note here that Indias naval base in the Andaman and Nicobar islands puts India in an advantageous position.Kra CanalKra Canal or the Thai Canal is actually a plan for a large canal that would cut through Southern Thailand to enable improved transportation in the region.China had planned to construct this over ten years employing 30,000 workers with an estimated cost of $20-25 Bn. However, initially the plan seemed to have been dropped owing to environmental concerns but recently there have been signs of revival of this plan since there are economic benefits for China and a threat of piracy in the Strait of Malacca. The plan was tentatively approved in 2007 but Singapore and US showed their dissent for obvious reasons. Another alternative to this plan is to build a pipeline across the Isthmus to carry oil to ships waiting on the other side.South China SeaSouth China Sea is located south of China and Taiwan, west of Philippines, North West of Malaysia, North of Indonesia and East of Vietnam. The region has proven oil reserves 7.7 billion barrels (28 bn estimated) and its natural gas reserves are estimated at 7500 km3.A significant part of this region is the Spratly Islands where oil was discovered in 1968. It has been estimated by the Geology and Mineral Resources Ministry20 of Peoples Republic of China that Spratly islands may have oil reserves to make them the fourth largest reserve bed in the world. Hence, there is intensification by PRC to claim these islands.Woody IslandsWoody Islands are a part of the Paracel Islands occupied by PRC. This node acts as a Chinese Emergency Rescue Centre served by an artificial harbour and an airfield with a 2350m runway. The centre was occupied in 1956 and als o has oil tanks, gun emplacements and ammunition storage bunkers.The islands may be used as a staging point to sp offn ops in the Spratlys. There are also reports of the existence of Silkworm anti-ship cruise missile installations on the Woody Islands.In mid 95, a new SIGINT station was established on the Rocky Island, north to Woody Island. Since it is the highest point, there is good signal interception is obviously good.Hainan IslandsThese 200 islands form the smallest province of PRC and are home to the PLAN strategic nuclear submarine naval harbour that is capable of hiding upto 20 nuclear submarines from spy satellites.The harbour houses nuclear ballistic missile subs and is large enough to accommodate aircraft carriers. PLAN has developed Sanya Naval Base (Yulin) in Southern part to op Jin class subs (SSBNs) and Shang class subs (SSNs) (replaced Han Class).Rising China Implications for India by Major General (Retd) Dhruv Katoch SM,VSM ,USI journal July September 2009.Source http//intellibriefs.blogspot.com/2008/01/gwadar-port-has-strategic-implications.htmlSource http//intellibriefs.blogspot.com/2008/01/gwadar-port-has-strategic-implications.htmlSource http//www.marinebuzz.com/2007/11/02/china-funds-sri-lanka-hambantota-port-development-project/Dilip Ghosh,Chinas String of Pearls encircling India , Asia Defence News Vol IV , Issue 12 , 15 Dec 2009.Dilip Ghosh,Chinas String of Pearls encircling India , Asia Defence News Vol IV , Issue 12 , 15 Dec 2009.Source http//www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?263531Source http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coco_IslandsAmardeep Athwal, China India relations contemporary DynamicsSource The Straits of Malacca the Rise of China, America s Intentions and the Dilemma of the Littoral States by Mokhzani Zubir, Researcher, Centre for Maritime Security DiplomacySource http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spratly_IslandsCHAPTER IVPOSSIBLE MOTIVATIONAL FACTORS BEHIND THIS STRATEGYChinas development during the past decade, from its expandi ng economy and increased global influence to its growing military might and demand for energy, presented tremendous challenges to their leaders as they managed the turmoil of massive structural, technological, and social changes. The governing three key worries of the Chinese government have been-elites of China had three overarching concerns-Regime survival.Territorial integrity.Domestic stability.In the succeeding paragraphs these three concerns and their impact on the economy have been highlighted. The relation between the economy and the string of pearls strategy has also been shown.Regime SurvivalRegime survival was has always been and will shall remain the foremost concern of the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The party leadership is It is aware that their survival depends upon the satisfaction of the Chinese people and their ability how well they are able to protect Chinese national interests. The collapse of the When Soviet Union collapsed and the end of the Cold War ended, Communism was exposed deduced as a communism as a bankrupt ideology with a flawed economic system21. To avoid the same fate as had befallen the erstwhile USSR, the Chinese adopted a socialist market economy. Although a lot of economic and social reforms have taken place but , in the middle of it the CCP has maintained a strict authoritarian control. The CCP is aware of the fact that as long as the economy is thriving the populace willl be satisfied and hence there would not be a serious threat to the current regime.Territorial IntegrityChina has in the recent past adopted a strategy of befriending its neighbours with the notable exceptions being India and Taiwan and in the process has met with considerable success too. Although certain contentious issues still remain with the countries such as Japan over some disputed islands but more or less China has successfully demilitarized its land borders in the nNorthern and the cCentral aAsia. On the central Central asian Asian front , China has become more influential under the support of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), whose member states consist of China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan, along with the observer members of India, Pakistan, Iran, and Mongolia. It is slowly but surely laying to rest the dispute over Tibet although in a more subtle way. The only spanner in the wheel that remains is its relations and territorial disputes with India which are not showing any signs of fast progress. However, the relations with India have been more of a sine curve with statements against one another coming from both sides. India has more or less recognized Chinas claims to Tibet and China has reciprocated by recognizing Indias claim to the Himalayan state of Sikkim. Even with respect to Taiwan, Chinese policy attempts to balance the stick of diplomatic and military pressure with the carrot of mutually beneficial cross-strait economic ties. With the last elections in Taiwan thro wing some startling results in favour of cChina, the day is not far off when it will come into some sort of agreement with Taiwan also. What has made China want to have good relations with its immediate neighbours . neighbours. The one thing that comes to mind is economy. It seems that the ever increasing demands of increased economic development are the driving forces behind Chinas improved relations with her neighbors.Domestic StabilityAgain successful economic development is perceived as key to Chinas third area of strategic concern, domestic stability. CCP is focused inward, and primarily domestic politics drive Chinas foreign and economic policies. Changes to the economic system and the decision to embrace globalization are causing major shifts in Chinese society22. The Chinese government is aware that although it is moving towards becoming an economically prosperous nation but everything is not in order inside their house. ThHere are large disparities between the economy of th e people who are living in the coastal cities such as Shanghai and the people who are living in the interior less developed regions which have not seen the effects of the information revolution. Due to this class distinction due as a result of theto economic stratification, the government is wary and knows that if there are anti government demonstrations they cannot be repressed as was done earlier, the famous example being of the Tiananmen Square crackdown of June 1989. Thus to address this issue the regime is aware that it needs to bring economic parity to its provinces such as Yunnan and Xinjiang. In meeting this challenge, the government must foster economic prosperity to satisfy the demands and expectations of the Chinese people.Link with EnergyAll these three abovementioned factors, as have been shown in the preceding paragraphs, are inescapably linked with the economic prosperity of China. The government iof China is aware that the greatest strength of cChina as also its grea test vulnerability is the its economy and hence it has based its national policy and strategy on economyaround this key factor.For its economy to continue thriving, as is with the case of all nations, China knows that it has to rely upon continued and sustained import of energy. Since energy provides the foundation of the economy, Chinas economic policy depends on the success of its energy policy. As the energy resources available within the country are quite limited and cannot ascribe to the full economy hence it China, therefore, has to rely in a big way on the external sources of energy and raw materials. To import these energy resources and raw materials, it has to have a good and effective transportation system both on land and at sea is required. The three major problems that were faced by China in importing energy via land based routes were that firstly, most of the energy rich nations are either not connected by land secondly, it would take a major effort and would not be co st effective to connect them with land and thirdly, even if these nations were connected, their links pass through other nations which may be a risk keeping in mind the fluid world order and changing equations. Hence, it was important that the Sea Lines Of Communications , which were importing the major chunk of energy be secured . Securing Sea Lines of Communications for energy and raw materials supports Chinas energy policy and is the principal motivation behind the String of Pearls. This is how and why the String of Pearls relates to Chinas Grand National Strategy.Protection of SLOCsThe question that arises here is that from whowhom is the protection is required, if at all.? Whom does China fear? Over 70 percent of the total oil imports of China come from either the Middle East or the African countries majority of which is transported through sea and this will remain so for the foreseeable future. Hence, China has a long-term commitment to these supply sources due to which it has been trying to build up better relations with these countries whether that comes as monetary help or in some other form. For eg, Saudi Arabia is Chinas largest crude oil supplier, and the Saudi national oil company, Aramco, is a 25 percent investor in