Revelations that Pakistan has invited China to build a naval base at the strategic port of Gwadar once again underlines widespread anxiety in India and beyond about Beijing's Indian Ocean objectives.
Gwadar is a predominantly Chinese-funded commercial port about 500 km from the Strait of Hormuz and is considered by many as the most significant "pearl" in Beijing's "string" of facilities around the Indian Ocean littoral. Though the Pakistani request has not been entertained by China, at least for now, the Indian Ocean is fast emerging as the main front in the struggle between China and India.
The Indian government last year explicitly acknowledged what many have been warning for years: China's role in the Indian Ocean is growing at a rate that underlines much more than a normal expansion of capabilities. External Affairs Minister, S.M. Krishna, informed the Indian Parliament last year that "the Government of India has come to realize that China has been showing more than the normal interest in the Indian Ocean affairs."