Indo-Pacific tensions: Deep dive | WION Wideangle

St calling military aircraft please [Music] identify until a few years ago the term indopacific was hardly heard in international Affairs but now it has developed a major significance security Dynamics in the indopacific are rapidly changing the region is home to not only the world's fastest growing economies but also the fastest increasing military expenditure and Naval capabilities it also sees the fiercest competition over natural resources and the most dangerous strategic hotspots thus it may not be wrong to say that indopacific holds the key to Global Security the increasing use of the term Indo Pacific refers to

all countries bordering the Indian and Pacific Oceans the enhanced cooperation between the Nations has been driven by growing concerns about China's increased defense spending and rapid L expanding military presence in the region the latest one is this scientists developing China's Next Generation nuclear submarine technology say they have found a way to significantly improve the efficiency of the laser propellers that can produce almost as much thrust as a commercial jet engine this new laser based propulsion technique developed by researchers at the Harbin Engineering University in China will use Optical fibers that coat the submarine this would

make the submarines much faster and stealthier this can be a GameChanger in the indopacific China's rise as an economic technological military and political Powerhouse is slowly Shifting the balance of power let's explore more about the Indo Pacific and its importance why China's growing influence in the region is concerning for its indopacific neighbors what is the US strategy to counter China here will future crises be triggered or settled at Sea in the Indo [Music] Pacific on the 21st of April the 19th banial meeting of the Western Pacific Naval Symposium opened in the port city of chinda

in East China's Shandong Province the 4-day event with delegations of foreign Naval off officials from 30 countries comes during heightened tensions in the South China Sea delegates reviewed activities taking place under the symposium's framework since its 18th bial meeting they also discussed the code for unplanned encounters at sea or Q's a Navy to Navy template designed to reduce misunderstandings and avoid Maritime [Music] accidents tensions are particularly high around the second Thomas sha in the South China Sea where Manila has accused Beijing of harassment including the use of water cannons against Philippine vessels when we stand

as one we're able to forge a better future for all the United States Japan and the Philippines signed a cooperation agreement at a trilateral summit days before China's banal meeting where leaders expressed concerns over beijing's dangerous and aggressive behavior in the South China Sea which XI jinping's government slammed as block politics I want to be clear the United States defense commitments to Japan and to the Philippines are Ironclad they're Ironclad as I've said before any attack on Philippine aircraft vessels or armed forces in the South China Sea would invoke our mutual defense treaty a great

deal of history in our world will be written in the Indo Pacific over the coming years so what is the indopacific region and the geopolitics around [Music] it the indopacific is broadly understood as an interconnected space between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean its expanse is debated to be ranging from the Eastern shores of Africa to the western coast of the United States in a more fun understanding the interconnectedness and the interdependence of the two oceans are a product of growing forces of globalization trade and changing equations between various countries which have broken down

older boundaries and opened up new avenues the Indo Pacific comprises 40 countries and economies four countries here in the region possess nuclear weapons China India North Korea and Pakistan from the Pacific region in the East that includes Australia and New Zealand and many other Oceania countries to South Asia that includes India Bangladesh Pakistan Sri Lanka the mives Nepal and Bhutan to Southeast Asia Nations including Indonesia the Philippines Laos Malaysia mmar and Thailand the indopacific is the world's fastest growing region strategically the indopacific is seen as a Continuum across the two oceans joined together by its

main trading channel the Strait of Mala 50% of the global trade 40% of oil passes through the Indo Pacific region but it is the growing footprint of China across the length and breath of the region that's threatening the other countries beijing's Maritime advances have sprawled across the two oceans in a bid to secure energy requirements and boost its trading ties in terms of connectivity and infrastructure the belt and Road initiative puts forward the Chinese Le plan to bind the geopolitical space economically China is a crucial trading partner for all the major states in the region

and also takes active interest in leading the economic Partnerships however the rise of China is to be decoded alongside that of the US presence in the region let's see how countries are marking their presence in the contested waters on the 21st of April American and Filipino forces launched their largest combat exercises in years in a show of Allied Firepower near the disputed South China Sea that has alarmed Beijing the annual exercises by the longtime treaty allies will run until May 10 the annual drills dubbed balikatan or shoulder Tosh shoulder come amid an escalating diplomatic rout

and Maritime encounters between the Philippines and China including the use of water cannons and heated verbal exchanges as Coastal Nations the United States and the Philippines share the vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean we understand the importance of Maritime cooperation in addressing the complex challenges that threaten peace and Security in our region together alongside our likeminded partners we are fully committed to upholding a stable and prosperous Indo Pacific this exercise and the many other smaller military engagements are Central to achieving our shared commitment to Greater interoperability between our respective Armed Forces while the US and

the Philippines resumed joint Naval Patrols in the area last year and the US has sailed there with other allies and partners it will be the first time that the balikatan drills have extended Beyond 12 nautical miles off the Philippines coast and into the waters claimed by [Music] China Beijing claims the South China Sea almost in its entirety despite a 2016 arbitration ruling that rejected the main elements of its claims and found many of its uses of the waters violated manila's rights under the UN convention on the law of the [Music] sea Washington and Manila are

treaty allies and have deepened their defense cooperations since Philippines president Ferdinand Marcos took office in 2022 [Music] earlier this month Britain the United States and Australia said they are considering working with Japan on Advanced capability projects through their okus security pact the three okas defense ministers also announced they will launch talks related to pillar two of this pact pillar two commits the members to collaborate on Military Technologies including Quantum Computing artificial intelligence Hypersonic weapons and undersea capabilities so what is the alus paack alus is an acronym for the alliance between Australia United Kingdom United States

what brought them together was the dragon in the Pacific all three countries were facing the heat of AR Rising China the US was turning to Asia seeking to reinforce its conventional might strengthen and streamline coordination with existing allies and build new alliances have Britain which wanted to play a bigger role in the Indo Pacific in line with the US pivot also saw China as an Epoch defining challenge for Australia non-nuclear power dependent on its Western partners for security guarantees China's rapidly growing military capabilities posed fresh challenges the three of them in September 2021 announced the

alus trilateral Alliance the alliance aims to counter China's Growing Power in the indopacific region and of Australia on the 8th of April China's foreign Ministry condemned the alas security pact and warned it could spur a regional arms race I've just outlined a position on the trilateral security partnership between the United States the United Kingdom and Australia we do not support the creation of conf frontation between camps and we are opposed to increasing the risk of nuclear proliferation and intensifying the arms [Music] race the Chinese Communist Party considers Taiwan a renegade Province and issues thinly veiled

threats against countries that recognize it as a sovereign state reports of China trying to capture the pratus islands emerged in 2020 prompting Taiwan to start patrolling the area with its f-16s tensions escalated once again after Taiwan spotted Chinese drones circling the taipe controlled pratus Islands Taiwan warned China that it may open fire if these unmanned flying machines enter the country's restricted Waters or airspace last year too taiwan's defense Ministry detected Ed 103 Chinese war planes around the island in 24 hours this year in the beginning of April Taiwan military said it cited 30 Chinese military

aircraft around the island in a 24-hour window one of the highest daily numbers in 2024 that's not all 20 of the aircraft crossed into the Island's so-called air defense identification Zone so why does China want to control the South China Sea why is it such a hotly contested region well China claims most of the South China Sea as its own including the oil and gas resources hidden beneath its aggression in South China Sea is not new [Music] [Music] foreign spee for in China it is called the South China Sea in Vietnam the East sea but

it's officially known as the South China Sea it is one of the most contested regions of the world the Western Pacific ocean comprises several archipelago clusters of mostly uninhabited islands atel and reefs most of these are located in two Island chains the parisel archipelago contested by China Taiwan and Vietnam and the spratly islands disputed between China Taiwan Vietnam Philippines Malaysia and brune surrounded by Waters teeming with fish the lucrative region is often caught in Fishery disput strategically placed on a global trading route 1ir of the world's Maritime shipping passes through it carrying over $3 trillion

in trade each year as far as trade is concerned it is one of the most important routs in the world 80% of China's energy Imports and 39.5% of its total trade pass through the South China Sea the vast sea is also known to be rich in oil and gas resources that can help meet the rising energy demands of nearby countries Beijing claims sovereignty over nearly all the sea using a map from the 1940s before the separation with Taiwan it bases its claim on the u-shaped n-h line etched by a Chinese geographer however this historical rights

argument has been challenged by many including Vietnam that say it has ruled over both the parisel and the spratley since the 17th century Vietnam's Coastline bordering the South China Sea is over 3,000 km long in 1974 the Chinese seized the parasols from Vietnam killing over 70 Vietnamese troops Vietnam claims ancestral sovereignty over the archipelago and like the Philippines has a accused China of harassing its ships on multiple locasion Malaysia and brune also lay claim to territory in the South China Sea that falls within their economic exclusion zones as defined by un close the United Nation's

convention on the law of the sea but all of them are concerned by China's military might a tiny nation of half a million people Maldives has drawn enormous attention from all across the world since Muhammad muu won the presidential elections last September the interest had only risen after the Diplomatic row with India and muu increased bonomi with Chinese president xiin ping take together all these developments indicate the intensifying India China rivalry in South Asia as well as the larger strategic disputes between the US and China in the Indo Pacific region so why is the mives

important to China ever since China expanded its engagement in the Indian Ocean Beijing has recognized the geographical positioning of Maldives Maldives sits arride key international shipping lanes in the heart of the Indian Ocean that are important for China's energy supplies and not just China the United States too is bolstering ties with the Indian Ocean archipelagic nation in February this year a state department spokesperson of the United States said the United States is committed to strengthening cooperation with the Maldives a key partner in ensuring a free open secure and prosperous indopacific region against this backdrop the

Maldives finds itself at a Crossroads in the ongoing competition between the uned United States and China decisions made by its leadership are likely to have significant implications for the geopolitical equilibrium in the Indian Ocean region Andaman and nicobar islands are of great strategic importance since they straddle one of the busiest sea Lanes in the world and give India the reach to monitor the traffic from the South China sea in the Pacific Ocean to the Andaman sea in the Indian Ocean via the straight of Mala that happens to be the world's most important trade route for

years the archipelago of Andaman and nicobar Islands at the juncture of the Bay of Bengal and Andaman sea to India's Southeast remained a dormant land mass that changed when China started making radical movements near the border areas fast forward to 20 23 New Delhi is building a naval base to counter its perennial foe with revamped airfields and Jetties habitat for troops to a robust surveillance infrastructure Andaman and nicobar islands are currently in the middle of a major military infrastructure [Music] upgrade at a time when indopacific Maritime issues have gripped several Nations Indonesia's foreign minister retno

marsudi has recently said Jakarta and Beijing have agreed to strengthen cooperation and bilateral relations the announcement came after the Indonesian foreign minister met with Chinese foreign minister wangi in Jakarta earlier in April but just a few years ago things were quite different China call China Coast Guard 53 02 this is Indonesian Coast Guard you over this isort yes sir as information sir you are in Indonesian Waters yes sir you are in Indonesian water sir please move away and go back to your territory sir China had an indisputable sovereignty over the isand in South China Sea

Under the adjacent Waters and enjy rights and the jurisdiction in IR relevant this was an incident from 2019 when an Indonesian Patrol ship confronted a Chinese Coast Guard vessel like other nations Indonesia too had deployed fighter jets and warships to patrol islands near the disputed Waters to counter China's aggressive behavior relations between Indonesia and China were frozen for decades but now China is is a major contributor of foreign direct investment to Indonesia China has invested billions of dollars in various projects across the nation's archipelago the association of Southeast Asian Nations and China have for years

been trying to create a framework to negotiate a code of conduct on the South China Sea a plan dating as far back as 2002 but progress has been slow despite commitments by all parties to advance and expedite the process the geography of island nations across the Indian and Pacific Oceans place them at the Strategic Crossroads of the great power competition as major Powers dive deep into the Seas of the indopacific region claiming Territorial and Maritime rights the world will watch how these Powers especially China and the United States and their allies navigate these Troubled Waters

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