New Delhi: Accusing India of attempting to pit US against China's increasing naval capabilities, a report in the state-run national daily Global Times quoted a strategy expert as saying that the provocation in uncalled for.


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Hu Zhiyong, a research fellow at the Institute of International Relations of the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, has said that India is provoking the US by projecting Chinese People Liberation Army (PLA) navy as a direct rival of the Americans. "The Indian media is exaggerating the rise of our naval power, as China has made clear that the development of maritime power is to protect the security of sea lanes. And the rise of the PLA navy will never affect freedom of navigation," he said.


(Also read: Why Chinese Navy at Gwadar Port is a major concern for India)


While an increasing number of countries - especially in south and south-east Asia - suspect China of trying to increase its maritime sphere of influence, China continues to project its rapid naval advancement as an attempt to secure merchant lines. "India just wants to incite the US to cooperate with India on containing China," said Hu.


India does see Chinese navy's movement in the Indian Ocean with a certain degree of suspicion. And that may well be due to China's own expansionist policy - a policy which has been witnessed by the global community in the South China Sea conflict.


And while Chinese patrolling vessels - and its submarines, more importantly - continue to lag in quality when compared to those with American and Russian forces, the country is on a fast-track to ramp up not just quantity but quality with it.