Reacting to the total dominance of China in and around Africa, Delhi has begun to writhe in agony. Edgy analysts in Delhi are contemplating how to stop the onslaught of Anti-Indian presence all around the borders of Bharat. The Sri Lankan conflict had less to do with Tamil nationalism, and a lot more to do with the port of Lankan port of Hambantota. During the cold war Sri Lanka had allowed Israel, and the US access to the port and was contemplating setting up a VOA tower in Lanka to broadcast American propaganda to a Soviet satellite–India. These were the good old days of very powerful Radio Ceylon which was listened to in all parts of South Asia. Bharat created the LTTE to pressure Lanka to backing off its US drift. After the Cold War, the Indians continued to support the LTTE terrorists and the Tamil Tigers continued their battle. Lanka paid a heavy price for its defiance. Now the tables have turned, Delhi is no longer averse to US bases, but doesn’t want any Chinese ones in Lanka. The case is different for Maldives. Former President Mamoon Abdul Gayoom had wanted to keep away Bharatiya intrusion into the Maldives. However this has been overturned with the arrival of the new regime in the Maldives. Delhi has tried to monopolize international oceans and prevent China and Pakistan to participate in regimes that would monitor and keep them open for word wide travel. Bharat aimed to create a regional grouping stretching from the eastern coast of Africa to Australia. The US and China were specifically excluded on the ground they were not Indian Ocean littoral states. Bharat’s efforts in attempting to create the “Indian Ocean Naval Seminar (IONS) last year have faltered. Indian Defence Minister A. K. Antony, while visiting Maldives, has declared that India and the Maldives have agreed on a series of measures to step up defense cooperation between the two countries. Officials have said that regular Dornier surveillance flights and an air force station, as well as military helicopters and 26 coastal radars, are part of the security plan. A 25-bed military hospital in Male has also been pledged by India. India may also set up a network of ground radars on major atolls of the Maldives. linking them with the Indian Coastal Command. This would bring the Maldives into the eye of India’s coastal security setup and within the security network of its armed forces.
A clear disconnect has emerged in the military views of India and the US, with a top American military commander saying Washington is comfortable with the increased presence of the Chinese Navy in the Indian Ocean, a suggestion that New Delhi bristles at. In floating the Indian Ocean Naval Seminar (IONS) last year, India aimed to create a regional grouping stretching from the eastern coast of Africa to Australia. The US and China were specifically excluded on the ground they were not Indian Ocean littoral states. Admiral Timothy J. Keating, who heads the Hawaii-based US Pacific Command, who was on a two-day visit to Bharat, while talking to reporters said he would like China to come aboard – as an observer and later as a participant – in the annual India-US Malabar naval war games that occasionally take on a trilateral hue. Bharat is hardly expected to root for this; and, the US would be comfortable with the Chinese Navy acquiring berthing facilities in Sri Lanka and the Maldives, a move that Bharat has been vehemently opposing. Keating also welcomed the increased participation of the Chinese Navy in the anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden at a time when India has been expressing growing concern over this, viewing it as Beijing’s muscling into New Delhi’s backyard. During his visit to New Delhi, Keating held discussions with his Indian counterpart, Admiral Suresh Mehta, National Security Advisor M.K. Narayanan and Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon. Bharat claim that Chinese intrusion extends beyond Lanka and the Maldives. It extends to the Sea of Aden where the Chinese have been asked to monitor the sea off the coast of Somalia. However, Keating declared that there is lots of room in the Indian Ocean for various players. He stressed that the US is not in favour of splitting the Indian Ocean into sphere but is talking in terms of cooperating and collaborating and sharing best practices. Bharat needs to be reined in if it thinks it is the sole custodian of the Indian Ocean.
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