China's attempts to counter India’s strong influence in the Indian Ocean Region receive a setback from Australia and Maldives

Beijing: China claims that a meeting of the China-India Ocean Region Forum held on 21st November was attended by 19 countries from the Indian Ocean Region with the exclusion of India. Subsequently, Maldives announced they did not have any official representative in the meeting, and Australia denied its participation giving a setback to China. The Chinese foreign minister refused to comment after statements from Maldives and Australia.

China claims that the Indian Ocean is not India’s backyard and that China also has a right over the region. For this, China has greatly increased its aggressive naval activities in the maritime region of the Indian Ocean. China, so far, has not been able to get a hold of this region where India holds a strong natural influence. China is trying to corner India by attempting to get other countries in this region on its side. The meeting of the China-India Ocean Region Forum is part of the same agenda.

China claimed that 19 countries from the region attended the meeting, including Maldives and Australia. However, Maldives and Australia reported having no official representatives at the forum. The former President of Maldives, Mohammed Waheed Hassan, and the former President of Australia, Kevin Rudd, participated in the meeting. Considering this, China proclaimed that Maldives and Australia also participated in the forum. However, China received a setback after a statement issued by these countries.

China’s foreign minister’s office declined to comment on this. But it’s quite evident that China is in a hurry to gain influence in the Indian Ocean. A Chinese analyst claimed that China would make aggressive naval moves in the Indian Ocean and warned India to be ready for it. China is aware of the difficulties in challenging India in the Indian Ocean. However, to demonstrate its aggression against India to other smaller countries, China will deploy naval ships and submarines in the region.

Many small countries in the region trust India more than China and believe that India will never invade their sovereign territory and harm their interests. These countries also realise that China cannot be trusted. Hence, it’s a testimony that India receives a huge response when it conveys a meeting of countries from the Indian Ocean Region. On the contrary, when China attempted to exhibit the same through the China-India Ocean Region Forum, it received a setback due to the announcement from Maldives and Australia.

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