![]() US Naval Intelligence estimates that by 2030, PLAN or the Chinese Navy will have 67 new big ships and 12 new nuclear-powered submarines, sufficient to control the Indian Ocean. CMEC’s military implicationsĬhina’s Navy, the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), would be able to monitor India in the Bay of Bengal thanks to CMEC. The meeting occurred only a few weeks before a sudden global pandemic shutdown. The Chinese President visited Myanmar in January 2020. Here, gas-fired power plants with a combined capacity of approximately 300 Megawatts are being constructed, which will be linked to a 1,400-kilometer high-speed Kunming-Muse-Mandalay-Kyaukpyu railroad connecting the KP SEZ with China, creating the shortest and most cost-effective route between China and the Indian Ocean.Īccording to reports, China reluctantly agreed to numerous requirements from the Myanmar government in 2019. This satisfies China’s energy requirements. Kyaukpyu is the starting point for the Sino-Myanmar pipelines. CMEC, similar to Pakistan’s CPEC, is a 1700-kilometre corridor with an inverted y-shape.Ĭhina CMEC and Kyaukpyu Port. In 2013, the Kyaukphyu Special Economic Zone or KP SEZ initiative was announced for the first time. Hence, China opted to send BRI through Myanmar and came up with the “jewel in the crown” of the BRI corridor in Kyaukpyu for an estimated $7 billion. Myanmar, a lawless nation mired in chaos for decades and mostly overlooked by the West, fits the Chinese plan. This prompted the Chinese to seek a less risky alternate path. ![]() The initial plan was to access the Indian Ocean through Pakistan, but Gilgit Baltistan’s hostile terrain, Iran’s influence and the United States’ significant presence in Pakistan and Afghanistan kept the Chinese on edge. This poses significant challenges to Chinese maritime activities in the region. This network is known as the Sound Surveillance System, or SOSUS. The United States, Japan, and India established a network of undersea detection systems from the South China Sea to the Andaman Sea to monitor Chinese actions. As China does not have a better route to the Indian Ocean, all Chinese civilian and military ships, including submarines, are compelled to transit through a choke point or restricted sea zone at Malacca. The Malacca Dilemma involves China’s freedom of movement in the ocean, notably in the Malacca Strait. In its basic form, the 2-ocean strategy focuses on facilitating China’s access to the Indian and Pacific oceans to break what China believes to be encirclement of its boundaries. To comprehend China, one must be familiar with ‘China’s Two Oceans Strategy’ and ‘Malacca Dilemma’. In Sri Lanka, China has been prohibited from utilising the port of Hambantota for military uses, in which it holds a 70% share. The Chinese-supported port of Gwadar in Pakistan has already provided military services to the Chinese People’s Liberation Army. But CMEC in India’s east requires greater attention as China’s footprint in chaotic Myanmar has increased dramatically since last year’s military coup.Ĭhina’s record with dual-use ports in the Indian Ocean is worth questioning. Not to scale.Ĭhina has been utilising Pakistan to expand its most ambitious project, CPEC (China-Pakistan Economic Corridor), which will be part of BRI, on India’s western side for some time. In 2009, the Chinese corporation CITIC signed early memorandums of understanding (MOUs) for the Kyaukpyu port project and a railway connecting the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) to southern China, predating the renowned Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The distance between the two sites is about 1000 kms. The base would be constructed along the coast with underground chambers to store India’s nuclear submarines. When constructed, this will be close to INS Varsha the Indian Navy Naval base being built in the Bay of Bengal. The port is part of a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) and the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor (CMEC). The 25-meter-deep harbour is being developed as another Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) demonstration project for the mutual benefit of Myanmar and China. Kyaukpyu port lies on the westernmost tip of Myanmar, along the Bay of Bengal. Why is the Kyaukpyu port a danger to India? Beijing views Kyaukpyu as a viable transport corridor with strategic benefits for China’s Indian Ocean strategy. There are concerns that China could transform Kyaukpyu into a naval port or a dual-use facility in the Bay of Bengal. Kyaukpyu is located on India’s eastern shores with Myanmar. China has a clear interest in the new Kyaukpyu (or Kyaukphyu) deep sea port in Myanmar that would provide a strategic foothold on the Indian Ocean and be connected overland to its underdeveloped southwestern areas.
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