For the recent few months, the world has witnessed the standoff between China and India at the Line of Actual Control (LAC), a poorly demarcated border between the two nuclear power countries. While saner heads finally prevailed, and China has retreated in recent weeks from the mountainous area near the Ladakh valley, another showdown could be in the making thousands of miles away in the Indian Ocean.
India is keenly observing Chinese naval activity in the area which has significantly increased since Chinese submarines made a visit to Sri Lanka in 2014. Task and Purpose Insider made a report that Indian officials have clearly made their known and could soon proceed with projects to strengthen the Indian navy.
While China and India have been observed to be fairly matched on land with the countries ranking first and second in terms of the countries containing the largest armies, China’s efforts to modernize its navy have been touted to give it the decisive edge in a showdown at sea.
However, China might not possess the kind of advantage others might actually suggest.
China and India are two of the nine countries that presently operate aircraft carriers and both nations’ aircraft carriers are modified Soviet-built surface ships. The People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) first locally built carrier, Shandong was commissioned in late 2019, but India’s own locally built one, INS Vikrant, was laid in 2013 and is expected to be completed and commissioned in 2021. More crucially, the Indian Navy had previously used two ex-Royal Navy aircraft carriers which saw service in the Indo-Pakistani war of 1971.
Robert Farley gave a description of India’s carrier plans earlier this year. Despite the challenges faced by the Indian economy, India took carrier aviation significantly after they gained independence. India focused much on submarines too.
One topic of relevant discussion is how India can check China’s expansion and the aggression involves control of the Malacca straits which serve as a connection between the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Whiles, it is not the only available passage China can utilize to get to other waters, this narrow stretch remains one of the most critical water shipping lanes in the world.
Almost one hundred thousand vessels transit through the strait every year and carry more than 25% of the world’s traded goods including goods manufactured in China.
The problem with China’s recent expansion of its navy is the fact that it hasn’t made many allies and friends in the area, unlike India which has many allies in the region which could be China’s Achilles heel in event of a conflict.
