With the increasing world population, diminishing resources, the rise of Asia and global power push by China, the Indo-Pacific will likely become the center of gravity of conflict with Sea Lines of Communication (SLOCs) of many countries crisscrossing these waters.

Maritime competition is essentially for control of trade routes, hence multitude of external powers that maintain naval presence in the Indo-Pacific.

Connecting the Indo-Pacific, the Straits of Hormuz and Malacca are major choke points, others being Sunda and Lombok; 17 million bbl./ day oil (30 per cent of global oil trade), 18.9 per cent of global production and 3.9 tcf of gas (1/3 of global LNG exports) pass through Strait of Hormuz, while 15.2 million bbl./day oil (26.9 per cent of global oil trade) and 4.2 tcf of gas pass through Malacca Strait.

Tensions in Asia-Pacific rose after China arbitrarily extended its Executive Economic Zone (EEZ) and drew her 9-dash claim across the SCS (South China Sea) based on a sketch drawn by the Kuomintang regime China refused to recognize and overthrew in 1948 stepping beyond her traditional continental land oriented security paradigms in 1993 having become a net importer of oil first time.

In 2005, the Deputy Political Commissar of PLAAF said, “When a nation grows strong enough, it practices hegemony. The sole purpose of power is to pursue power…Geography is destiny …….

When a country begins to rise, it shall first set itself in an invincible position.”

Read more: http://www.sldinfo.com/an-indian-perspective-on-the-evolving-role-and-relationship-with-japan/