{"id":55070,"date":"2017-09-08T15:33:32","date_gmt":"2017-09-08T19:33:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=55070"},"modified":"2017-09-08T02:53:16","modified_gmt":"2017-09-08T06:53:16","slug":"indian-ocean-conference-in-colombo-utilised-as-part-of-us-and-indian-moves-to-expand-naval-power-in-region-to-contain-china","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=55070","title":{"rendered":"Indian Ocean Conference in Colombo Utilised as Part of US and Indian Moves To Expand Naval Power in Region to Contain China"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Pradeep Ramanayake and K. Ratnayake <\/strong><\/p>\n

The advertised theme of last week\u2019s Indian Ocean Conference (IOC) in Colombo was \u201cpeace, progress and prosperity.\u201d But the two-day event had nothing to do with such aspirations. Washington and New Delhi used the event to unveil their plans to expand naval operations in the region and reiterate their strategic interests. Though they did not refer to China by name, it is the target of this military buildup.<\/p>\n

The conference was hosted by the India Foundation, a think tank close to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in collaboration with Singapore\u2019s Rajaratnam School of International Studies and the National Institute of Fundamental Studies, a Colombo research centre.<\/p>\n

The main US speaker was Acting Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Alice Wells. The Indian delegation was led by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj. Delegates attended from about 35 other countries, including Australia, France, Germany, Britain, Japan, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Singapore, Seychelles, Mauritius, Malaysia and Vietnam. China and Pakistan sent low-profile delegations.<\/p>\n

The event was held against the backdrop of increasing geo-political tensions between the US and India, on the one side, and China on the other.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The Trump administration is using North Korea\u2019s nuclear tests to threaten military action, as well as more sanctions, and to expand US military operations in South Korea. Washington accuses China and Russia of assisting North Korea, underscoring the fact that they are the ultimate targets of US attempts to assert its global hegemony. On the bogus pretext of defending \u201cfreedom of navigation,\u201d the Pentagon is dispatching naval warships to the South China Sea, challenging Beijing\u2019s territorial claims and dangerously provoking tensions that could result in nuclear war.<\/p>\n

India and China have long-standing territorial disputes along their mutual borders and are rivals in the struggle for resources and markets. The Modi government has effectively transformed India into a \u201cfrontline state\u201d as part of US imperialism\u2019s war drive against China.<\/p>\n

Indian Ocean sea routes annually carry about half the world\u2019s container shipments, one-third of the bulk cargo traffic and two-thirds of oil shipments. These routes are vital for China. Most of its raw materials imported from Africa and the Middle East, including energy, pass through the area. In the event of military conflict with China, the US and Indian navies will attempt to block Chinese shipping.<\/p>\n

Emphasising Washington\u2019s strategic interests in the region, Wells declared: \u201cThe United States is\u2014and will continue to be\u2014an Indo-Pacific power.\u201d She called for a \u201ccommon vision for the Indian Ocean\u201d to counter \u201csecurity threats\u201d in the Indian Ocean and \u201csupport international standards, including freedom of navigation.\u201d<\/p>\n

These phrases\u2014\u201cinternational standards,\u201d \u201cfreedom of navigation\u201d and \u201crules-based systems\u201d are the hypocritical mantras used by Washington against China.<\/p>\n

Wells referred to the steps already taken by the US and reminded delegates about the US-India-Japan Malabar Naval exercise in July, describing it as \u201cour largest and most complex to date, involving over ten thousand personnel.\u201d She told the conference that \u201cjoint capacity building and exercises\u201d would help share \u201cthe security burden in this increasingly complex region.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wells noted the new navy-to-navy relationship between the US and Sri Lanka and the \u201cfirst-ever naval exercise\u201d between the two countries in October. The exercise is the latest in Washington\u2019s efforts to fully integrate Sri Lanka into the US war drive against China.<\/p>\n

In 2015, the US, with Indian assistance, orchestrated the ousting of former president Mahinda Rajapakse over his close relations with Beijing, and the installation of his replacement, Maithripala Sirisena.
\nA week before the IOC meeting, the new head of the Sri Lankan Navy (SLN), Vice Admiral Travis Sinniah, declared his commitment to \u201cfreedom of navigation.\u201d The future role of the SLN, he declared, was \u201cto protect commercial trade between the Gulf of Aden and the Straits of Malacca.\u201d Both locations are strategic choke points for Chinese shipping.<\/p>\n

Indian minister Swaraj told the conference that Indian Ocean sea lanes were among the busiest and most critical maritime transportation links in the world. Moreover, 90 percent of India\u2019s trade by volume and almost all its oil imports used these routes. \u201cIndia\u2019s role as the key pivot in the Indian Ocean region is a given,\u201d she declared.<\/p>\n

India\u2019s strategy, Swaraj continued, \u201cincluded extending port connectivity among the littoral states of the Indian Ocean and beyond.\u201d India is expanding such developments with Sri Lanka, Maldives, Mauritius and Seychelles. Swaraj referred to other schemes, including the Kaladan transport project, which connects the eastern Indian seaport of Kolkata to Sittwe Port in Myanmar and the Trilateral Highway to Thailand, and the Chabahar Port Project in Iran.<\/p>\n

The Modi government\u2019s military buildup has been encouraged by the US, which has provided various strategic benefits to the detriment of India\u2019s arch-rivals Pakistan and China. This includes establishing a special status for India in the international nuclear-regulatory regime and allowing it to access advanced US weapons systems. India has reciprocated by giving the US navy access to Indian ports and providing for the repair and maintenance of American ships.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is important to develop a security architecture that strengthens the culture of cooperation and collective action,\u201d Swaraj told the conference. Her comment was interpreted by the Colombo media as a reference to China recently acquiring a majority stake in Sri Lanka\u2019s Hambantota port. Following the Hambantota deal, India, which regards the sub-continent and the Indian Ocean as its own sphere of influence, dispatched Foreign Secretary Subrahmanyam Jaishankar to Sri Lanka to voice New Delhi\u2019s concerns.<\/p>\n

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe told the IOC meeting: \u201cLet me refer to Sri Lanka\u2019s decision to develop its major sea ports, especially the Hambantota port, which some claim to be a military base. I state clearly that Sri Lanka\u2019s government headed by President Maithripala Sirisena does not enter into military alliances with any country or make our bases available to foreign countries.\u201d
\nWickremesinghe\u2019s comments sought to appease not just New Delhi, but above all Washington, Tokyo and others involved in the US-led economic and military buildup against China. The IOC gathering was another indication of the advanced stage of these preparations.<\/p>\n

CourtesY:World Socialist web Site<\/em><\/p>\n

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By Pradeep Ramanayake and K. Ratnayake The advertised theme of last week\u2019s Indian Ocean Conference (IOC) in Colombo was \u201cpeace, progress and prosperity.\u201d But the two-day event had nothing to do with such aspirations. Washington and New Delhi used the event to unveil their plans to expand naval operations in the region and reiterate their …<\/p>\n

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