A New Cold War Is Brewing In The Indian Ocean,

China Africa Project

Bertil Lintner, Asia Times: New Cold War in the Indian Ocean

Great power competition between the US, India, Japan and Australia on one side, and China on the other, is raising the strategic stakes in the maritime area.

A new Cold War is brewing in the Indian Ocean, with an informal alliance of the United States, India, Australia, Japan on one side and China on the other. While tensions in the ocean are not yet as pitched as in the hotly contested South China Sea, the potential for conflict is unmistakably rising in the high stakes strategic theater.

More than 60% of the world’s oil shipments pass through the Indian Ocean, largely from the Middle East’s oil fields to China, Japan and other fuel-importing Asian economies, as does 70% of all container traffic to and from Asia’s industrialized nations and the rest of the world.

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WNU Editor: China will not be alone .... it has its allies in this region. Pakistan .... China May Soon Establish Naval Base in U.S. Ally Pakistan (NBC). A base in Djibouti .... U.S. Wary of Its New Neighbor in Djibouti: A Chinese Naval Base (NYT). Good relations with Iran .... Iran And China Conduct Joint Naval Exercises In The Strait Of Hormuz. As well as good relations with other countries around the Indian Ocean (see above map).