Signaling expansionist intentions and its rise on the global stage, China inflicted a double whammy on India on April Fool’s Day by directly interfering with India’s sovereignty and sphere of influence in the Indian Ocean region.
A day before Supreme Leader Xi Jinping renamed 11 different geographical locations in India’s Arunachal Pradesh on April 2, which New Delhi immediately rejected, China named 19 subsurface features in the southern Indian Ocean, some 2,000 kilometers away from the Indian Ocean peninsula.
Although the Chinese propaganda media called it a projection of Beijing’s “soft power”, the carve-out of territory far from the Chinese mainland after the China International Mineral Research and Development Association (COMRA) won a 15-year exploration contract from the International Seabed Authority.
The renaming of various geographical locations in Arunachal Pradesh and the deep Indian Ocean reflects the Central Empire mentality of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and reflects the British imperial approach in the 19th century to project dominance and power. Even diplomats posted to China are given Mandarin names when presenting their diplomatic documents.
China named 19 subsurface features in Indian Ocean
Of the 19 seabed features named in the Indian Ocean, six features are off the coast of Oman and the Chinese port of Djibouti in the Horn of Africa, four features are off the coast of Madagascar, and eight features are located on the southwest ridge of the Indian Ocean. Ocean and one formation is east of the ridge formation in the deep Indian Ocean towards Antarctica.
Six features, namely Bangu Knoll, Huapengu hill, Langzhangg Hill, Shugu Hill, Tanggu Hill and Zhangu Hill, were proposed by the Hydrographic Bureau of the Chinese Navy in 2021. Other features, namely Yaogu Seamoount and Yugu Hill, were proposed by the Hydrographic Bureau of the Navy in 2020 and another Houxian Seamount proposed by COMRA in the same year.
One feature, namely Sanboa Hill, was proposed by COMRA in 2019, another, namely Tainlong Seamount, was proposed by COMRA in 2018 and approved by the Xi Jinping regime. Four features were proposed by COMRA, namely Daxi Hill, Duanqiao Hill, Fengyan Seamount, Wangdayuan Seamount in 2017 and approved by Beijing.
Three formations (Liezu Seamount, Wanwu Ridge and Yuqing Seamount) were proposed by COMRA in 2016 and one (Yang’e Rudge) in 2015. All these sea formations were named based on surveys carried out by Chinese research vessels, for example Bangu Knoll was discovered by a Chinese vessel Chen Jingrun Hao in 2019 and proposed in 2021.
Ocean floor surveillance was carried out by vessels such as 877 Hao, Zhu Kezhen Hao, Li Singuang Hao, Qianglong Erhao and several others.
According to a national security planner and former Indian foreign minister who served in China, the renaming of geographical entities in India’s Arunachal Pradesh is to show that Beijing disputes the area as Zhangnan or South Tibet, but naming features in the Indian Ocean is a project of dominance in the Indo-Pacific.
The fact is that before staking an illegal claim to the entire South China Sea, China started renaming the islands; Woody Island Atoll was renamed Sansha City.
Written by: Vaishali verma
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