Just a week after Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi announced that the two friendly nations would bolster strategic ties in an attempt to counter China’s aggression, Professor and Chair of the Department of Economics at LIU (Long Island University) Post in New York Panos Mourdoukoutas predicted that it would not be possible for New Delhi and Tokyo to beat the Asian dragon in near future.
In an article published in Forbes magazine on September 15, Mourdoukoutas wrote that India and Japan made a mistake by wasting time before launching the new mission. According to the guest teacher at Columbia University, (now) it becomes difficult for the two Asian powers “to tame China’s ambitions to take control of the trade routes in the Indian Ocean, encircling India in the process”.

Mourdoukoutas believes that India and Japan lack the resources required to counter China’s aggression in the region. Although the Narendra Modi government in New Delhi has taken various steps to ensure a steady economic growth, the South Asian country’s per capita GDP is roughly one-third of China’s, he argued. Japan’s per capita GDP is five times higher than China’s, but the Japanese economy is not in a strong position right now.
Mourdoukoutas explained the importance of the Indian Ocean to global powers, saying that “the Indian Ocean has always been a strategic waterway for trade” between Africa and Asia, but the recent rise of China as an economic powerhouse has changed the equation. With China becoming a major trade competitor of Japan, India and the US, the four powers are trying hard to dominate the Indian Ocean (and also the South China Sea).

According to Mourdoukoutas, it has become crucial for Beijing to expand its presence in the Indian Ocean in order to secure its dominance in South China Sea. In fact, the current global geopolitical landscape has prompted the top Chinese leadership in Beijing to prepare a plan especially for the Indian Ocean. The professor believes that it is basically an alternative plan. Beijing has decided to ensure its presence in the Indian Ocean because it is well aware of the fact that a blockade of the Strait of Malacca by the US will make it difficult for China to import oil from West Asia and Africa.
Moreover, China’s ‘close’ ties with Pakistan and Sri Lanka allow the Asian giant to use Gwadar and Hambantota ports, respectively, thus, making it extremely difficult for India and Japan to counter the former in the Indian Ocean.

In such a situation, New Delhi and Tokyo will have to make some tough and bold decisions to contain Beijing. They will have to build ports in Vietnam, South Korea, Taiwan and also in other neighbouring countries, apart from bolstering ties with Russia. They may try to encourage Russia to distance itself from China on various international issues. But, Mourdoukoutas believes that Russia, too, is not in a position to snap ties with its southern neighbour. New Delhi and Tokyo may also try to corner China over the ‘North Korea’ issue. If the move works, then the two may get an advantage. Or else, they will have to accept China’s dominance in the current global geopolitical scenario.

Boundless Ocean of Politics on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/boundlessoceanofpolitics/

Boundless Ocean of Politics on Google Plus:
https://plus.google.com/+KoushikDasboundless

Boundless Ocean of Politics on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/kousdas?s=09

Contact us: kousdas@gmail.com

Published by Koushik Das

Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das