Indian Ocean

INDIAN OCEAN
The Indian Ocean - the world's third largest body of water- already forms center stage for the challenges of twenty-first century. The greater Indian Ocean region encompasses the entire arc of Islam, from the Sahara desert to the Indonesian archipelago. Although Arabs and Persians are known to Westerners primarily as desert people, they have also been great seafarers. Today, the reaches of Indian Ocean include Somalia, Yemen, Iran, Pakistan, Myanmar, India, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Indonesia etc. The Indian ocean is dominated by two immense bays, the Arabian sea and the Bay of Bengal, near the top of latter sits two ferociously guarded sovereignty (with vast military) and astonishing independent countries in the world Myanmar and Pakistan. In Myanmar where the competition over energy and natural resources between China and India looms Although we are seeing countries building up their sea powers, the sea powers has been less threatening in recent centuries than land power. Navies make port visits, and armies invade. Even if the comparative size of the most powerful navy -US navy - decreases in the decades ahead, the United States will remain the one great power from the outside Indian Ocean region with a major leverage position among rising Asian navies. Throughout history sea routes have mattered more than land routes. Even in jet and information age, 90 percent of global commerce and 65 percent of all oil travel by sea. The Indian Ocean accounts for 50 percent of world’s container traffic and 70 percent of petroleum products pass through. Choke points include straits of Malacca, Hormuz (Shatt Al Arab Waterways known in local). 40 percent of world trade passes through Malacca, 40 percent of all traded crude oil passes through Hormuz. India is dependent on oil for nearly 33 percent of its energy needs, 65 percent of which is imported from Persian Gulf countries. Coal imported from Mozambique, South Africa, Indonesia ands Australia. Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is imported from Qatar, Malaysia and Indonesia to India, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Western Europe. This shipment will have major decrease when ongoing Myanmar-Bangladesh-India gas pipe line project, Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline project which Iran will supply India with 7.5 million tons of LNG annually for 25 years starting 2009, Turkmenistan-Pakistan-Afghanistan pipeline project are completed.     

Myanmar currently exports more than 1 billion cubic feet of gas (28 million cubic meters) a day of natural gas from its two offshore projects in the Gulf of Martha ban to neighboring Thailand via an underwater and overland pipeline network. Thailand pays an estimated 2 billion dollars a year for the gas imports. China has signed a 2.4-billion-dollar loan agreement with Myanmar to finance the construction of a natural gas pipeline between the countries. The loan was inked between the China Development Bank Cooperation and Myanmar Foreign Investment Bank on November 30, 2010 in Napyitaw, the new capital, the Myanmar Times reported. The pipeline is to run from Rakhine State on the Myanmar coast, site of the Kyauk Phyu national gas project, to Yunnan province in southern China. The loan will be mainly for the natural gas project in Kyauk Phyu, which involves Myanmar, China, Korea and India, where Myanmar has 7.3 percent of the shares. The loan would help bring speed up construction of the project. Under the Myanmar-China gas scheme, India is to help build a new port in Sithwe, Rakhine, to handle gas from offshore reserves and China will construct a 1,000-kilometer pipeline to deliver the gas overland to Yunnan. Yunnan is the China’s major gateway to Indochina. China is currently building two high speed rail systems for Myanmar and Thailand from Kumming, Yunnan’s Capital. At the same time China will be utilizing KyaukPhyu deep sea port for Bulk Carriers. According to the plan 35 containers ships can be unloaded their cargo simultaneously. That will be one of largest in Asia when it is completed similar to Sri Lanka’s just completed Chinese built Hambantota huge port. India is also intimately helping Iran to develop the port of Char Bahar on the Gulf of Oman as forward operating base for Iran’s navy.

On the manpower side approximately 3.5 millions Indians working six Arabs states such as United Arab Emirates and sending home $4 billion remittances annually. And India’s trade will grow with Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan which has become a strategic rear base for India against Pakistan which is poised to become an important energy partner. India has also been expanding its military and economic ties with Myanmar because of rich natural resources such as oil, natural gas, coal, zinc, copper, uranium, timber and hydropower which China are also heavily invested. India is enlarging its navy of 155 ships third largest in the world (after US and China). US has 276 ships with superior technology is still bigger than combined strength of 10 other Navies including China and India. China government is already adopted ‘a strings of pearls’ policy in Indian ocean. It has built and building large naval bases and listening posts in Pakistan, other facilities in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh. Other large naval bases not in Indian Ocean but in South China Sea islands of Paracels and Spratly islands. Interesting point is that 75 percent of world population living within 200 miles of the sea, the world’s military future may well be dominated by naval (and air) forces operating over vast regions.