The Maritime Silk Road in the Indian Ocean, a New Conception of Chinese Maritime Power
The Indian Ocean – a gateway to energy and a vital international sea route – has always been important for China. And with the Maritime Silk Road, it is becoming the incubator of a new Chinese conception of maritime power. This predominantly geoeconomic vision, with its underlying notion of “maritime connectivity,” doesn’t translate into partnerships and cooperation agreements with coastal states, because it is incompatible with an anarchic maritime system dominated by traditional visions of security and interstate rivalries. In this competitive context, the Chinese approach is instead confined to the yielding of economic power over its partners and the construction of dual-use infrastructure (civil and military) indicative of China’s ambivalent posture.