String of Pearls (China)
The String of Pearls refers to the Chinese sea lines of communication which extend to Port Sudan. The sea lines run through the strategic choke points Strait of Mandab, Strait of Malacca, Strait of Hormuz and Strait of Lombok as well as other strategic naval interest such as Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Maldives and Somalia. The term was used in an internal United States Department of Defense report titled "Energy Futures in Asia".[1]
“The “String of Pearls” describes the manifestation of China’s rising geopolitical influence through efforts to increase access to ports and airfields, develop special diplomatic relationships, and modernize military forces that extend from the South China Sea through the Strait of Malacca, across the Indian Ocean, and on to the Persian Gulf.—Christopher Pehrson, [2]
Chinese President Hu Jintao has stated that the goal of the PRC's naval strategy is a “harmonious ocean” and "China would never seek hegemony, nor would it turn to military expansion or arms races with other nations".[3] Some Indians fear that the string of pearls may put India at a military disadvantage,[4] and that India's lack of a grand strategy lets China develop relationships with the other countries in the region.[5]
Contents |
[edit] Energy security
The sea lines of communication from Hong Kong to Port Sudan have become a source of conflict with respect to China's future energy security. China is the world's second largest oil consumer and the third largest oil importer. China imports 15% of its oil from West Africa[6], is the largest consumer of Sudanese oil[7], and has signed long term contracts to develop Iranian oil fields[8].
With a wave of pirate attacks off the coast of Somalia[9] in late 2008, the ongoing war in Darfur and the continued oppression by the Robert Mugabe regime in Zimbabwe[10], Chinese foreign policy has now shifted toward a more direct approach to dealing with such hostilities.
[edit] Military facilities
[edit] South China Sea
David Eshel counts the Chinese naval facilities on Hainan Island as the first pearl on the chain.[11]
[edit] Central Asian conflict
In what has been dubbed The New Great Game, the United States, United Kingdom and other NATO countries, Russia and China have begun vying for control of the lucrative oil and gas fields of Central Asia. The rugged inaccessible terrain of Central Asia and the presence of terrorist groups such as Al-Qaeda present obstacles to the transportation of oil and natural gas by pipeline. After the events of 9/11 the region has seen an increase in the number of United States military personnel especially in Afghanistan, and the recent invasion of Georgia by Russia has placed the Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan pipeline in jeopardy.
In order to hedge against the growing militarization of Central Asia, China has begun construction on a new massive deep-water port in Gwadar, Pakistan[12] which is expected to help China gain a strategic foothold for naval operations in the Indian Ocean and Persian Gulf. The port will also act as the downstream hub for pipelines linking to Central Asian natural gas fields through Afghanistan.
The Chinese completed construction on the new Kazakhstan-China oil pipeline in 2009. The pipeline runs from the Chinese-Kazakh border to the North Caspian Sea. This final extension will allow the pipeline to be filled with oil from the giant Tengiz oil field.
[edit] Indian Ocean
Ports in Marao, Maldives; Gwadar, Pakistan; Chittagong, Bangladesh; Sittwe, Burma; Lamu, Kenya; and Hambantota, Sri Lanka. [13]
Dean Cheng of the Heritage Foundation has said that the United States will need to partner with India to counter China's influence in the Indian Ocean.[14][15]
In a Summer 2011 article for the academic journal Asian Security, Nilanthi Samaranayake of CNA has undertaken a first-time, systematic analysis of the trends in Sri Lanka’s economic, military, and diplomatic relations with China. The port in Hambantota, Sri Lanka is discussed. [16]
Daniel Kostecka has argued that the Indian Ocean bases are purely commercial because they lack any military infrastructure and are indefensible in wartime.[17]
[edit] References
- ^ China builds up strategic sea lanes
- ^ String of Pearls: Meeting the Challenge of China's Rising Power Across the Asian Littoral.
- ^ Hu: China Would Never Seek Hegemony
- ^ http://blogs.reuters.com/india/2009/07/28/india-encircled-by-chinas-string-of-pearls/
- ^ Joseph, Josy. "Delhi entangled in the Dragon's String of Pearls." Diligent Media Corporation, 11 May 2009.
- ^ China's Rising Role in Africa by the Council on Foreign Relations
- ^ China's April Oil Imports From Sudan Rise Sixfold
- ^ China Signs $70 Billion Oil and LNG Agreement with Iran
- ^ Somali Pirates Living the High Life
- ^ The Dirty Half-Dozen
- ^ Eshel, David. "'String of Pearls' is Securing China's Sea Lanes." Defense Update, 20 December 2010.
- ^ Pakistan Launches Strategic Port
- ^ [1]
- ^ 'India, US need to partner to balance China in Indian Ocean'
- ^ http://news.rediff.com/slide-show/2010/aug/23/slide-show-1-Indias-quiet-ways-of-dealing-with-china.htm
- ^ Nilanthi Samaranayake, "Are Sri Lanka’s Relations with China Deepening? An Analysis of Economic, Military, and Diplomatic Data," Asian Security, vol. 7, no. 2 (2011): 119–46
- ^ Kostecka, Daniel. "Hambantota, Chittagong, and the Maldives – Unlikely Pearls for the Chinese Navy." China Brief, 19 November 2010.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
