This why China needs a strong navy :

[Hafizzz]

China’s Navy is Worrying Its Neighbors

Brinkmanship is making for a testy summer in East Asia. In recent years, China has been building up its naval fleet, enabling it to maintain control over trade routes. Now, its activities are provoking pushback from neighbors, and attempts to contain the rising superpower appear to be entering a new phase.

A key flash point is the South China Sea. Its resource-rich islands have drawn competing sovereignty claims from China, Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam—with China acting the least cooperatively. At July’s ASEAN Summit in Hanoi, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pleased regional leaders by targeting China’s harassment of foreign ships and declaring peaceful resolution of territorial disputes an American “national interest.” But China’s Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi labeled her comments an “attack” and warned against internationalizing the issue.

The spat occurred at a sensitive time: the U.S. and South Korea had just begun joint naval exercises in the East Sea. Originally intended to show solidarity against China’s ally, North Korea, its unprecedented scale—involving some 20 warships, 200 aircraft, and 8,000 troops—angered Beijing. But the bad feelings are mutual. This year, China’s own war games have grown. Japan claims two Chinese submarines and eight destroyers passed through its waters in a brazen incursion in April.

Such belligerence “really puts a question mark in the minds of the Asia-Pacific countries about China’s claims for a peaceful rise,” says Abraham Denmark of the Center for a New American Security. The result: the region is now in the throes of a naval buildup, motivated at least partly by the need to hedge against Beijing’s power. Japan is boosting its submarine fleet for the first time in 36 years; Singapore, Indonesia, and Australia are also ramping up acquisitions. Even as Vietnam celebrates a “Year of Friendship” with China, it has bought six Kilo-class fast-attack submarines and has moved to strengthen defense ties with India, which is concerned about Chinese encroachment in the Indian Ocean.

As for America, says the Asia Society’s Charles Armstrong, its challenge is reconciling its role as a regional stabilizer in Asia with the “reality of its declining power.” In June, the U.S. agreed to extend its command presence in South Korea ’til 2015. Still, China’s neighbors are moving to belatedly assert themselves because they realize an overstretched U.S. won’t always be around.

China's Neighbors Move To Hedge Its Power - Newsweek

The reason China needs a strong navy with Aircraft Carriers :

India targeting China's oil supplies
India targeting China's oil supplies - Telegraph

Military planners in India are eyeing a crucial junction of the world which serves as the conduit for 80 per cent of China's imported oil.

The Strait of Malacca, where the Indian Ocean joins the Pacific, is seen as China's Achilles' heel. These shipping lanes, vital for Beijing's energy supplies, could be the setting for any future confrontation between India and China.

The two giant powers are long-standing rivals who share a disputed 2,100-mile border and are waging a diplomatic struggle for influence in Asia. They fought a border war in 1962, which ended in victory for China and left Beijing in control of 16,500 square miles of territory claimed by India.

Both countries are increasing their defence budgets, with India's military spending rising by an average of 18 per cent in each of the past three years and now exceeding £15?billion.

If these tensions were ever to boil over into war, India would probably exploit a crucial advantage. Its navy, which eventually plans to deploy three aircraft carriers and two nuclear-powered attack submarines, would probably seek to close the Strait of Malacca to Chinese shipping through an increased presence. By cutting off the supply of oil, this could cripple China and prove the decisive move in any conflict.

"The most likely flashpoint would be along the border, but ultimately the decision in any war would be on the ocean," said Sheru Thapliyal, a retired Indian general in New Delhi who once commanded a division on the frontier with China.

"The Indian Ocean is where we could use our advantage to the maximum. If you want to choke China, the only way you can choke China is by using naval power."

With China's key vulnerability in mind, India has constructed a naval base within striking distance of the Strait of Malacca at Port Blair on the Andaman Islands. China has countered by installing military facilities of its own, complete with electronic monitoring and eavesdropping devices, on the nearby Coco Islands. These specks of land belong to Burma, a long-standing ally of China.

Beijing is now taking other steps to address what President Hu Jintao has called the country's "Malacca dilemma". With hugely ambitious infrastructure projects, China hopes to bypass the Strait of Malacca and eventually end its dependence on this vulnerable waterway for energy supplies.

On India's western flank, China is helping to build a new port in the Pakistani town of Gwadar. Thrust together by their shared rivalry with India, Pakistan and China are old allies.

Gwadar could eventually provide a base for Chinese warships. Or it may be used as the starting point for a pipeline travelling through Pakistan and carrying oil and gas into China itself. If so, Beijing could import energy from the Middle East using this route, bypassing the Strait of Malacca.

The same rationale may explain China's actions on India's eastern flank. A new port and pipeline terminal are being constructed at Kyauk Phyu on Burma's island of Ramree. This will be the starting point for a 900-mile pipeline, able to carry oil directly to Kunming, the capital of Yunnan province in southern China.

"They know that we could attempt to choke them completely and that's why they want these ports," said Vijay Kapoor, a retired general in New Delhi and former commandant of the Indian Army War College. "Their aim in all of this is to prevent us from being able to choke them."

China's moves are being closely watched in India, where the military establishment fears that Beijing's plans in Pakistan and Burma amount to a deliberate strategy of "encirclement". If China's navy acquires permanent bases in the Indian Ocean, tension will grow.

But Indian diplomats tend to believe these fears are exaggerated. They believe that China is motivated by nothing more than securing its economic boom and taking normal precautions against unforeseeable events.

This is why China needs an aircraft carrier. If the worst comes, Chinese aircraft carriers can bring an organic air element to areas in which the PLAAF cannot reach and it will keep China's shipping lanes open

 

[Markus]

The reason China needs a strong navy with Aircraft Carriers :



This is why China needs an aircraft carrier. If the worst comes, Chinese aircraft carriers can bring an organic air element to areas in which the PLAAF cannot reach and it will keep China's shipping lanes open

Why is Pakistan more concerned abt Chinese navy instead of their own?

 

[Hafizzz]

Why is Pakistan more concerned abt Chinese navy instead of their own?

"More concern" ?

List all the "more concern" you see.

 

[Guynextdoor]

Dude haven't you understood the one china policy yet? :p

 

[chauism]

Dude haven't you understood the one china policy yet? :p

China doesn't need CVBG for Taiwan. The narrowest area of the Taiwan Strait about 130 km.

 

[Chinese-Dragon]

Having a strong navy is good for securing trade routes, boosting the domestic economy (and the domestic arms industry), securing national safety, and national pride.

I very much doubt India would block off the Indian ocean sea routes, that would also cut supplies to Japan, Korea, Taiwan, etc. and cause the United Nations and the International community to go into a fit of rage.

Luckily we produce a lot of energy domestically, and can still get oil from Malaysia/Indonesia, and Central Asia (and Russia) through oil pipelines.

 

[Markus]

Having a strong navy is good for securing trade routes, boosting the domestic economy (and the domestic arms industry), securing national safety, and national pride.

I very much doubt India would block off the Indian ocean sea routes, that would also cut supplies to Japan, Korea, Taiwan, etc. and cause the United Nations and the International community to go into a fit of rage.

Luckily we produce a lot of energy domestically, and can still get oil from Malaysia/Indonesia, and Central Asia (and Russia) through oil pipelines.

To block or not is not the main point.

The main point is capability of blocking - which can also act as a deterrent.

 

[Chinese-Dragon]

To block or not is not the main point.

The main point is capability of blocking - which can also act as a deterrent.

You're right, it's a powerful deterrent.

I don't think it will ever come to that point though, since neither China or India will gain anything from fighting a war against each other. Especially when you factor in the risk to the global economy, and the fact that both sides have nuclear weapons.

 

[Hafizzz]

To block or not is not the main point.

The main point is capability of blocking - which can also act as a deterrent.

According to your logic then encircling India is also an act of deterrence ?

Having a strong navy is good for securing trade routes, boosting the domestic economy (and the domestic arms industry), securing national safety, and national pride.

I very much doubt India would block off the Indian ocean sea routes, that would also cut supplies to Japan, Korea, Taiwan, etc. and cause the United Nations and the International community to go into a fit of rage.

Luckily we produce a lot of energy domestically, and can still get oil from Malaysia/Indonesia, and Central Asia (and Russia) through oil pipelines.

Of course India cannot block the Indian Ocean Sea Routes because the Indian Ocean is International Waters and India don't own the Indian Ocean. If India tries to block the Indian Ocean then I guess China has the right to kick India's a@@.

 

[Tshering22]

According to your logic then encircling India is also an act of deterrence ?



Of course India cannot block the Indian Ocean Sea Routes because the Indian Ocean is International Waters and India don't own the Indian Ocean. If India tries to block the Indian Ocean then I guess China has the right to kick India's a@@.

The process of blocking is display of capabilities to block while completely blocking is smart strategy and deploying naval vessels all around the "blocked" state is an act of belligerence.

So far the Chinese have smartly planned a good strategy to develop good ties and strategic relations with most of our estranged neighbours. This shows their capability and smartness which is admirable in Indian circles.

Hence, we learn from China.

 

[Chinese-Dragon]

So far the Chinese have smartly planned a good strategy to develop good ties and strategic relations with most of our estranged neighbours. This shows their capability and smartness which is admirable in Indian circles.

Hence, we learn from China.

We all learn from each other.

 

[Hafizzz]

The process of blocking is display of capabilities to block while completely blocking is smart strategy and deploying naval vessels all around the "blocked" state is an act of belligerence.

So far the Chinese have smartly planned a good strategy to develop good ties and strategic relations with most of our estranged neighbours. This shows their capability and smartness which is admirable in Indian circles.

Hence, we learn from China.

LOL. "A string of Pearl" is just an Indian thought and there is no truth to it. India uses it as an excuse to built her own string of Pearls to encircle China :

India's Own String of Pearls Around China
New India: India's Own String of Pearls Around China

China’s official statements on Arunachal Pradesh and the larger border dispute since late last year clearly indicate a conscious change in China’s policy towards India. China, which used to have border disputes with almost all its neighbours, has settled it amicably with the sole exception of India.

China’s strategy towards India on the border and territorial dispute was clear for some time now – delay the settlement till China can negotiate it from a position of considerable military and economic strength. China pinned its hopes on the economic reforms, which it started in the 1970s to make it economically, militarily and politically strong vis-à-vis India. All of a sudden in the early 1990s circumstances forced India too to embark on the economic reforms route. This, China was never able to foresee and today an India growing at 9% has upset China’s calculations.

China, realising what economic reforms can do to a nation, embarked on its contain India strategy. China got down to its business of encircling India with its strategic string of pearls, which are pressure points to make India uneasy and vulnerable. The results have been fantastic as far as China is concerned; what with India’s supposed allies like Maldives, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, etc joining the party.

As India found herself at the world’s high table as a consequence of her unprecedented economic growth and post cold war geopolitical realties, China’s strategy of playing for time failed miserably. Today India is an Asian ally of USA and rapidly getting economically and militarily closer to it. This has clearly rattled the Chinese and IMHO exactly because of this we are hearing those noises from China on the border and territorial dispute.

B. Raman, however, is of the view that China wants to settle the Tibet issue after the death of the present Dalai Lama by incorporating Tawang or possibly the whole of Arunachal Pradesh in to China Occupied Tibet by any means including another war if necessary.

Now the question is what should be India’s response to an increasingly belligerent China?

On the one hand China wants the trade relation, because it is heavily tilted in its favour to continue and grow further but also wants to have a multi-faceted relation covering all spheres with India. And on the other hand it wants to settle the border and territorial dispute in its favour, on its terms and at a time of it’s choosing. By its string of pearls strategy China wants to confine India to the subcontinent by making it feel strangled and thus vulnerable.

India too has an interest in continuing and boosting the trade relation with China particularly if India’s export share of value added products increases. But that definitely shouldn’t undermine India’s interests or its territorial integrity. If anything that is clear from China’s policies or official statements is that it doesn’t want to do anything that will disrupt its “peaceful” growth. This means China surely can get belligerent but will not be stupid enough to get into a full-scale war to settle the border dispute when it knows unlike in 1962, today, India can hit back hard.

If one studies the geopolitical situation in the subcontinent and the belligerent noises emanating from China, then it is time for India to stop being pusillanimous in its relation with China. In other words, it is time to reciprocate China’s policy of encirclement. Some joint Naval exercises and some security meetings between India, USA and allies have rattled the Chinese like anything. So how much more will China be rattled if India replicates its version of string of pearls around China?

China’s Achilles Heels

To fuel it’s voracious growth, China is signing up oil, gas, and minerals deals of all kinds around the world. From South America to Australia, from Central Asia to Africa, the Chinese are rummaging for stuff to keep their country running. Signing up deals is the easy part but getting it to their country is the difficult part.

China and Pakistan have lined up ambitious plans for their growth. Pakistan hopes to benefit financially and economically from being a trade and energy corridor to the Central Asian Republics and China. China, which is building the Gwadar port in Pakistan, hopes to lay oil and gas pipelines to route crude and gas from the Persian Gulf and Africa to China through Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (***). Not only this, for China the shortest route to transport raw materials it plunders from the African continent to the mainland will be via the soon to be laid all-weather Karakoram Highway. A rail link is also planned.

The Karakoram Highway that connects Pakistan with China passes through the Khunjerab Pass in ***. If what Pakistan and China have planned for themselves - by exploiting India’s legitimate territory - comes to fruition, then the Karakoram Highway, the pipelines, the rail link all well could become China’s Achilles heel. In other words, destruction of these economic links will make China highly vulnerable. This is an important pressure point India can exploit to make China feel the pressure. The strategy of targeting this vital economic corridor of China should be on two fronts. One, from Jammu and Kashmir and the other from the Wakhan Corridor in Afghanistan, which is nearer to the Karakoram Highway. To get access to Wakhan Corridor and establish a military outpost there, it would take India’s best diplomatic efforts in cajoling Afghanistan to grant it. One way of getting access is on the pretext of building roads that benefit Afghanistan in the Wakhan Corridor.

One of the reasons China is keen on routing oil and gas from Gulf and Africa through *** is to avoid the shipping lanes of Malacca Strait, which are patrolled by USA and allies. As India increasingly engages with USA and allies on security matters, sooner or later if India can play its cards shrewdly, it can hope to be given the exclusive or major responsibility of safeguarding the shipping lanes of SE Asia and the Malacca Strait. Once this fructifies China will surely know the pressure.

China’s economically important areas are in Eastern China – the coastal areas to be precise. That is were China’s SEZs are. India’s IRBM Agni III, which is still in the developmental stage, can very well target these areas. But the distance just will not make China feel the pressure because China’s BMD system will have ample time to knock them out.

India’s relation with Vietnam has been strong from the Cold War days. Apart from political and economic relations, India also has military relations with Vietnam. Vietnam’s northern borders are very close to China’s economically important coastal regions. India needs to have a full-fledged military base in this area with a battery of appropriate missile targeting China’s SEZs. Once again it would take India’s best diplomatic efforts in cajoling Vietnam to grant it. USA is also increasing its political and economic relation with Vietnam in order to pressure China on trade issues such as intellectual property rights and currency reform.

Another country with which India’s relation has been strong from the cold war days is Mongolia. An Indian military base here would be a good bet to put additional pressure on China.

Finally there is the Taiwan card. Nothing rattles China more than Taiwan getting any type of political importance particularly from countries that matter. India suffering from Sino-phobia after the 1962 war refused to have anything to do with Taiwan lest it annoyed China some more and China rubbed its nose in the mud again. Today, India has at last allowed a harmless (for China) Taiwanese politician to set foot in India only after taking due permission from Communist China. India needs to change its policy on Taiwan This card is to be kept aside till the appropriate time and let China know it.

What I wrote on the strategy to contain China is no fairytale but something that is achievable. To achieve this, as I mentioned earlier, it would take strong political resolve and India’s best diplomatic efforts. A military base each in Northern Vietnam immediately and the Wakhan Corridor later is of paramount importance if India wants to keep the boisterous and belligerent dragon away from mischief directed at it. Once China realizes that India can take out its vital economic assets and it can’t respond before it is too late, it will have no option but to behave.

At the end of the day India also wants the border and territorial dispute with China settled amicably. This cannot be achieved as long as India decides not to confront the dragon with the ground realties.

If India remains complacent it will surely pay the price in not too distant future. If it is too incompetent to come up with a “contain China” strategy of its own, then the next best way to keep the dragon away and secure its borders is to get into full military alliance with the United States of America.

 

[Masterchief]

indian government is not a child how can they block the oil supplies in indian ocean this will have serious implications, and india is not eyeing chinas oil deposits we are matured enough to understand the strain it can put in the relations of both nations, of course china has every right to build a strong navy but the reasons given by the author are ridiculous

 

[Hafizzz]

indian government is not a child how can they block the oil supplies in indian ocean this will have serious implications, and india is not eyeing chinas oil deposits we are matured enough to understand the strain it can put in the relations of both nations, of course china has every right to build a strong navy but the reasons given by the author are ridiculous

You are right. No country in the world has the right to block any Sea Routes in International waters. So I guess India is just BLUFFing as usual to make herself look tough. But trying to scare China is a BAD move because China might take things seriously and that won't be good for India.

 

[RAHUL INDIAN]

You can find hundred of reason to build your navy....Simple is CHina is growing and wants to counter US, so it has to build its navy...no choice..

its not its Navy build up as much which is cause of worry.. India also building up without any concern from anywhere...

Its more likely the aggressive Chinese policy towards many of its small neighbours and its territorial claims that makes them feel the concern in case Chinese Navy gets strong...