China and India, as the two most populous countries in Asia, have similarities in their industrial models and economic structures, and competition will continue to intensify in the future, and India regards the mainland as its biggest potential rival. In line with the idea of "you can do it, I can do it", India hedged China's deployment of the "String of Pearls" in the Indian Ocean and helped the Philippines build a port!
So as India intensifies its competition with China, in what direction will the Sino-Indian competition develop in the future, what impact will India's efforts to help the Philippines build ports on the mainland, and who will be the "first brother" in Asia between China and India in the future?
China's "String of Pearls" program in the Indian Ocean
Since the beginning of the 21st century, India's military and economic strength has ushered in rapid growth, and the Indian government is full of confidence, believing that India's comprehensive national strength will be like India's population base, and it will achieve a comprehensive overtake of China.
For this reason, India is actively imitating China's economic and industrial model to expand trade, and in early May, the Indian Navy piloted three destroyers and frigates to visit Southeast Asian countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines.
However, in addition to the military visit, India also has a layer of meaning, its focus is mainly on the visit to the Philippines, which will be modeled on China's Indian Ocean String of Pearls to help the Philippines build a port.
So what exactly does China's String of Pearls plan in the Indian Ocean entail, and why did it attract India to follow suit?
With the progress of economic globalization, the importance of maritime transportation is growing, and the South China Sea, the Indian Ocean and other routes are the main channels for the mainland to conduct maritime trade with foreign countries.
However, due to the large number of ports involved in China's shipping and the unpredictable global situation, disputes between various places are continuous.
If a large number of maritime ports are controlled due to political factors, thereby restricting the passage of Chinese cargo ships, it will deal a serious blow to the mainland economy.
To this end, the mainland began to lay out in the 90s of the last century, planning to take advantage of the convenience of the maritime "Silk Road" to build a string of pearl ports near the Indian Ocean, so as to ensure the smooth operation of the mainland's maritime transportation.
The main content of the String of Pearls plan is to obtain the qualification of overseas berthing of warships through financial assistance, and ensure the smooth flow of maritime routes through the deterrence of warships stationed abroad, so as to ensure the good development trend of China's maritime trade.
The United States is very sensitive to the details of China's "String of Pearls" program, and has even listed six pearls deployed in the Indian Ocean by China's "String of Pearls" program. They are Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Cambodia, the South China Sea and Thailand.
The ports of Bangladesh and Pakistan are relatively clear, namely Chittagong and Gwadar, but the specific ports of Myanmar, Cambodia, and Thailand have no tangible evidence from the United States, which is just a fabrication and conjecture by the United States.
The cooperation between the mainland and Thailand in the construction of the canal project and the construction of a railway in Cambodia is regarded by the US side as "ironclad evidence" of the Indian Ocean String of Pearls plan, and it condemns the mainland, believing that the implementation of the mainland string of pearls plan will disturb the international situation.
However, the claim that China is deploying and building a "string of pearls" in the Indian Ocean is completely fabricated by the United States and has not been officially recognized by the mainland.
The idea that China is building a string of pearls in the Indian Ocean originated from a confidential document obtained by the US Department of Defense in the last century, which described China's "string of pearls" plan in the Indian Ocean in detail, and convinced the United States and India!
The United States is wary of China's "String of Pearls" plan in the Indian Ocean, while India is frightened, and does not hesitate to spend a lot of economic and financial resources to help the Philippines build a port to counteract!
So why is India so nervous about China's "string of pearls" plan in the Indian Ocean?
The reason why India is nervous about China's "string of pearls" program
The reason why India is very nervous about China's string of pearls program is mainly because the United States speculates that the Indian Ocean String of Pearls program itself was set up to target India.
It can be found from the distribution of the six "pearl" ports of the Chinese pearl string speculated by the United States, which covers the coastal area of India completely.
If Sino-Indian relations continue to be tense in the future, even India will be completely surrounded by mainland maritime forces, so as to carry out a comprehensive strike!
In addition, it is India's past feud with the mainland that makes it convinced of the existence of the Chinese string of pearls.
China and India have had conflicts and contradictions since ancient times, and after the founding of the People's Republic of China, armed conflicts broke out between the two sides on the Tibetan border.
The contradictions between China and India are mainly twofold. One is that the mainland and India have had territorial disputes since ancient times, and India has coveted Tibet for a long time.
As one of the birthplaces of Buddhism, India has a strong sense of religion in the country, and most of the people are devout Buddhists.
As a pilgrimage site for Buddhism, Tibet is equivalent to the Jerusalem of Islam, so India is jealous of Tibet.
The second reason for the tension between India and India is that India and Pakistan are in a state of hostility, and fierce military clashes often break out between the two sides.
As a friendly neighbor of Pakistan, the mainland provides economic and military assistance to Pakistan.
India's relations with China are strained in the attitude that a friend of the enemy is an enemy.
On the economic front, the mainland and India will be in competition for a long time in the future. Whether it is China or India, the cheap labor resources brought by the large population are the most fundamental help for their economic take-off.
In order to pursue the highest economic efficiency, a large number of enterprises in Western countries have relocated their industries and built foundries all over the world.
The mainland is a high-quality location for the foundries of many foreign companies such as Apple and Micron, and China's manufacturing industry has also ushered in a take-off.
However, with the further enhancement of China's comprehensive national strength, the price of China's labor has risen, and it is gradually no longer in line with the West's pursuit of the highest economic efficiency.
Therefore, Western companies have turned to India as a suitable foundry location, and even Apple has already migrated the entire iPad production line in 2022.
In the future, India will be a direct rival for the development of China's manufacturing industry, and the competition between the two countries will continue to intensify.
The "string of pearls" plan created by the United States has undoubtedly caused panic in India, so that it will be wary of China and prepare for the construction of a port in the Philippines.
So why did India choose the Philippines? What impact will India's attempt to build ports in the South China Sea affect the future situation in the South China Sea?
Prospects for the future situation in the South China Sea
For India, the reason for choosing the Philippines is very simple, that is, the relationship between the Philippines and China is also tense, and there are still disputes between the two sides over Ren'ai Jiao and other territories, and the possibility of intensification of conflicts cannot be ruled out in the future.
China and the Philippines had friendly relations in the last century, and the Philippines was an important part of China's Maritime Silk Road.
But with Duterte's fall from power, Marcos came to the fore and moved entirely to the side of the United States. He even wantonly tore up the cooperation agreement between China and the Philippines, resolutely stood on the opposite side of China, and attempted to occupy China's inherent territory such as Ren'ai Jiao.
The root cause of the conflict between China and the Philippines is undoubtedly the Philippines' disdain over the important strategic position in the South China Sea. As the only way for shipping in the Asia-Pacific region, the South China Sea is an important maritime transportation hub in the world, which can bring huge economic benefits.
In order to realize his "sweet dream" of illegal occupation of Ren'ai Jiao, Marcos played an aggrieved role in shaping China's naval power into an arrogant and domineering group, slandering the Chinese navy for illegally attacking Philippine fishing boats, in an attempt to gain the favor of the United Nations.
Internally, it has united with the United States, "expressed loyalty" to the United States, participated in many meetings of the US Congress, and applied for military assistance from the United States to strengthen military construction.
India's visit to the Philippines and its plan to build a port in the Philippines undoubtedly symbolizes the alliance between the Philippines and India, which will build a chain of islands around the South China Sea.
So in the face of the joint provocation of India and the Philippines, how will the mainland respond?
Even though India and the Philippines are ambitious, the mainland is not panicking. This is because the military power of India and the Philippines is nothing compared to China's, and the real fear behind this is the assistance of the United States.
The United States is mired in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, the whirlpool of disputes in the Middle East, and the United States is in an economic crisis at home.
The mainland's previous successful sea trials of the Fujian ship were a strong response to the provocations of India and the Philippines.
As China's third aircraft carrier, the advent of the Fujian means that China has officially entered the ranks of aircraft carrier powers, and its military level can be described as a dimensionality reduction attack compared with India and the Philippines.
In addition, with India's infrastructure capacity, the joint construction of the seaport with the Philippines will not be completed overnight, giving the mainland sufficient time to respond.
As the mainland's comprehensive national strength is further enhanced, it will adopt a tough policy to deal with provocations by other countries.
Therefore, if India and the Philippines continue to provoke China in the future, the possibility of China taking force countermeasures cannot be ruled out.
In addition, China has realized the technological transformation of the manufacturing industry, and the mainland will undoubtedly take the initiative in the increasingly fierce competition between China and India in the future.
epilogue
The United States deliberately spread China's "String of Pearls" plan in the Indian Ocean to warn India, and joined forces with the Philippines to build a port to counter China's String of Pearls plan.
In the future, the mainland will adopt a tough response policy to the South China Sea disputes, and with the industrial upgrading of China's manufacturing industry, it will gradually gain the advantage of future competition between China and India.
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I can do it in China: hedging China's "string of pearls" in the Indian Ocean, India wants to build a port for the Philippines
2024-05-08 17:16·Shao Yongling