Beijing: Watching warily India`s decision
to go ahead with oil exploration cooperation with Vietnam in
the South China Sea despite objections from Beijing, Chinese
analysts say it is New Delhi`s counter-strategy to checkmate
the forays being made by China into its neighbourhood.
India`s efforts to firm up oil exploration cooperation
with Vietnam in the South China Sea, which China claims as its
own is a provocative move to show its annoyance over Beijing
building up close ties with countries like Myanmar and
Pakistan, said Shen Dingli, Director of the Centre for
American Studies of Institute of International Studies at
China’s Fudan University.
"In recent years, China has also been building up ties
with countries like Myanmar... Pakistan invited China to
provide safety protection and offered China a naval port on
the Indian Ocean. All these moves made India feel nervous,"
Shen told state-run Global Times.
Ever since the Indian firm ONGC took up oil exploration
in two blocks in the South China Sea claimed by Vietnam, the
Chinese official media has extended proactive coverage to it
calling on the government to firmly handle it to reassert its
supremacy in the region.
Besides China, the disputed waters in the South China Sea
are also claimed by Vietnam, the Philippines, Brunei and
Malaysia and contain rich oil reserves, estimated up to 28
billion barrels.
The joint exploration between India and Vietnam is not
accidental since in recent years India has taken an
increasingly eastward-looking stance, Wu Xinbo, Professor at
the Centre for American Studies, Fudan University, said.
As a South Asian country, India actively takes part in
East Asian issues through the support of the US which has been
advocating for Asian countries to counter China.
"The US takes every opportunity to counter China, and its
joint military manoeuvres with Japan and other regional
countries have been more frequent in recent years," Wu said.
This project helped India kill two birds with one stone.
It will bring economic benefits to India and at the same
help it to balance out China politically, Wu said.
Rong Ying, the Vice President of the China Institute of
Strategic Studies, attached to the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, however advocated that India and China should
carefully handle the issue considering the advances they made
in their relations.
Twnety first century belongs to Asia Pacific region and
India and China are the most important countries whose leaders
have been saying that the world is big enough for both, he
told state-run CCTV.
The countries have come a long way in improving their
relations and should carefully handle their differences, he
said.
PTI
