China's hegemonic ambitions for the Indian Ocean Region

• Published date: 15 December 2022
• Publication title: Mizzima News

Recently, the China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA) and the People's Government of Yunnan province hosted the China-Indian Ocean Region Forum on Development Cooperation in the Yunnan capital Kunming, on 21 November 2022. The forum's theme was 'Shared Development: Theory and Practice from the Perspective of the Blue Economy'.[1] It was chaired by Luo Zhaohui, the Chairman of CIDCA who was also the former Chinese Ambassador to India between 2016 to 2019.

According to the Chinese government, representatives of 17 states and three international organisations attended the meeting virtually. The countries included Indonesia, Pakistan, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Afghanistan, Iran, Oman, South Africa, Kenya, Mozambique, Tanzania, Seychelles, Madagascar, Mauritius, and Djibouti. Australia and the Maldives, which had received invitations from China preferred not to attend the meeting, though China claimed that representatives of both countries attended the meeting. Subsequently, however these countries issued press statements clarifying that their representation at the meeting was not official.

Needless to mention, India was not part of the meeting, though Beijing claimed that New Delhi was invited too. Addressing the forum, Luo underlined that 'the Indian Ocean connects Asia, Africa and Oceania and serves as an important window and route that connects China and countries in the region to the rest of the world.' He added that China will strengthen cooperation with countries in the Indian Ocean region to grow the blue economy, and advance the implementation of the Global Development Initiative in the region.

Against the backdrop of recent setbacks that China has received in the region including in Sri Lanka and Pakistan, this China-Indian Ocean Region Forum is a clear attempt by Beijing to reclaim some of the lost ground. Given the history of Chinese investments in the region, this meeting can be perceived as another expansionist attempt by China to amplify its presence in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) by investing in ports and infrastructure in the IOR countries, especially in South Asia.

The CIDCA, which is an official Chinese agency, it seems has been established with a view to counter the strong influence that India holds in the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) - an organisation with 23 member states and is well entrenched in the region. China is expected to roll out more such initiatives in the future. Even though China is far...