Why South China sea matters for India?

Why South China sea is important for India? 

South China Sea is an arm of western Pacific Ocean in Southeast Asia.It is south of China, east & south of Vietnam, west of the Philippines and north of the island of Borneo.

What makes it so important?

This sea holds tremendous strategic importance for its location as it is the connecting link between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. (Strait of Malacca)

According to the United Nations Conference on Trade And Development (UNCTAD) one-third of the global shipping passes through it, carrying trillions of trade which makes it a significant geopolitical water body.

As the importance of securing trade routes and accessing fast-depleting energy resources grow, the region is experiencing greater volatility and tension over the territorial disputes in the SCS. China, in particular has been an increasingly aggressive actor, using its political and military might to dominate smaller states at different points

Why south China sea matters for india? 

India is not a littoral state, India is widely recognised as an important stakeholder in the security of the region. Recent joint statements with ASEAN have expressly alluded to “India’s role in ensuring regional, peace and stability… addressing common challenges on maritime issues, ensuring maritime security and freedom of navigation”. India’s entry into the geopolitics of the region has been welcomed by almost all states with the exception of China. Simply put, “The South China Sea is becoming a factor in India’s own strategic calculations and strategic debates, and India is becoming a factor in the strategic calculations of South China Sea states.

What factors determine India’s interests in the South China Sea? What sort of a role should India seek to play in order to protect those interests? How can India’s foreign policy be calibrated in order to advance the attainment and realisation of our national interest vis-à-vis the SCS region? 

India’s interests in the South China Sea region have geopolitical, geoeconomic and geostrategic dimensions.

Geopolitical Dimension:

Role of China – The acceptance and prevalence of the term “Indo-Pacific” among strategic commentators as well as diplomats has become synonymous with India’s entry into South East Asia and the Pacific theatre. Some analysts posit that India’s involvement in the South China Sea is reflective of Indo-Chinese Great Power rivalry.  What repercussions would Chinese dominance in the SCS have on Chinese emergence in the Indian Ocean region where India has traditionally enjoyed pre-eminence? Officials often repeat that this dispute is just one part of the broader relationship. But can India’s relations with China with respect to the South China Sea region be analysed in a vacuum or does it necessarily influence and is influenced by developments in other parameters of the relationship (such as the border dispute, POK etc.)? What lessons (if any) can India draw from Chinese aggressiveness and threat of use of force in its approach towards maritime disputes in the SCS when evaluating our own border disputes with China?

Role of ASEAN – What expectations does ASEAN have of India as a non-littoral player in the region? What are the dynamics governing India’s relationships with individual ASEAN states and with ASEAN as a whole?

Role of Other Major Powers – What is the importance of the SCS to India in the context of increasing Indian engagement with Pacific powers like Japan, USA and Australia, especially in a Naval context.

India as a Great Power – Should India take on greater responsibilities commensurate with its power status and enhance its prestige?

Geoeconomic Dimension:

Trade – 55 percent of India’s trade with the rest of the world passes through the Strait of Malacca and South China Sea. How important is freedom of navigation through the SCS for Indian trade and global trade at large? What would be the economic consequences of a conflict or disruption of sea-lanes in the SCS? How will changing global sea-borne trade routes affect the importance of the SCS? Will India’s economic reliance on trade through the SCS increase or decrease in the foreseeable future?

What is our economic relationship with claimants to the SCS region?

Geostrategic Dimension

Energy Security – What is the importance of the SCS to India’s energy security in the context of our overseas hydrocarbons acquisitions and access to energy supplies from other States?

Look East – The Look East policy has been one of the pillars of Indian foreign policy in the preceding decades. How is the SCS related to our Look East policy? Is involvement in the SCS a natural extension of Look East?

Naval dimension – Indian ‘military diplomacy’ in the form of naval exercises, friendly port calls etc. have increased in frequency since 2000. What is the Naval dimension of India’s look East policy? What are its objectives? What is the relative strength of the Indian Navy compared to the PLA Navy? How is that expected to change given attempts at rapid military modernisation on both sides?

How the South China Sea situation plays out will be critical for our security and well-being? 

. In the first place, the South China Sea is not China’s sea but a global common. 

Second, it has been an important sea-lane of communication since the very beginning, and passage has been unimpeded over the centuries.

 Third, Indians have sailed these waters for well over 1,500 years — there is ample historical and archaeological proof of a continuous Indian trading presence from Kedah in Malaysia to Quanzhou in China. 

Fourth, nearly $200 billion of our trade passes through the South China Sea and thousands of our citizens study, work and invest in ASEAN, China, Japan and the Republic of Korea. 

Fifth, we have stakes in the peace and security of this region in common with others who reside there, and freedom of navigation, as well as other normal activities with friendly countries, are essential for our economic well-being