CHINA'S EXPANSIONIST POLICIES IN THE IOR: THE WHYS AND WHEREFORES

Indian Naval Despatch: Volume 6. No. 3 | by Sudip Malik

Published Date: August 2026 | 30 min read | 8 Views

Abstract: China's expanding presence in the Indian Ocean Region is commonly explained through the lenses of geopolitical ambition, great-power competition and as a deliberate policy choice. This article argues that China’s strategic behaviour is rooted deeply in a set of structural drivers that have made the Indian Ocean increasingly central to its national security and economic future. These drivers produce what thi…

Beijing secures its strategic objectives through a calculated strategy of gradualism slowly and incrementally expanding dual-use commercial footprints to alter the maritime status quo, all without triggering military confrontation. However, while sustained engagement with the IOR has become a strategic necessity for C

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