ANNUAL REPORT

330
Karachi Port, that could eventually enable Chinese naval access
to these areas. 113
Figure 6: India’s Andaman and Nicobar Island Chain
Source: Google Maps.
For the time being, India enjoys a significant advantage over China
in the Indian Ocean: its influence over Indian Ocean states outweighs
that of China, and more importantly, it enjoys a geographic
advantage while China suffers from the “tyranny of distance.” According
to Dr. Brewster, “China’s ability to project significant power
in to the Indian Ocean remains highly constrained by the long distance
from Chinese ports and air bases, the lack of logistical support,
and the need for Chinese naval vessels to deploy to the Indian
Ocean through chokepoints.” 114
The nature of Sino-Indian competition in the Indian Ocean currently
is fairly low-intensity, for a couple of reasons. First, China’s
primary security interests still reside in the Western Pacific, with
Taiwan and maritime disputes in the East and South China seas
being Beijing’s (and the PLA’s) top priorities. 115 China’s preoccupation
with these areas, combined with the PLA Navy’s limited
(albeit growing) ability to sustain a robust presence far from China’s
shores, will limit its influence and capabilities in the Indian
Ocean for now. 116 Second, China’s primary interest in the Indian
Ocean—sea lane security—does not in and of itself pose a threat to
or challenge the interests of other countries (in contrast to China’s
efforts to advance its maritime claims in its near seas). However,
China’s recent record of flouting international norms and laws and
employing bullying tactics against weaker states to advance its interests—particularly
in the maritime realm—throws doubt on this