Development of China and Indian Ocean Economies

China has emerged as an important global player due to its outstanding economic growth and contribution in global economy. To retain its position and expand its influence in global arena, China is looking for new avenues. One of the favourable centres to spread out its power and strength is Indian Ocean by which China sustains its economic growth using different sea lanes for trade and investment. The Ocean has also been a great source of energy security as China is the major consumer in Asia considering its vast population. The geopolitical importance of Indian Ocean, nevertheless, cannot be denied to expand trade and commerce. To achieve its key strategic interest, China is always eager to protect the sea routes, maintain good relations with the great powers and try to balance the power in the region. On the contrary, China’s influence in the Indian Ocean has been a great concern for other great powers like India and the USA which have the common interests in this region. The triangular role of these three stakeholders in Indian Ocean politics are the key issues of discussion for this paper. Also, the importance of Indian Ocean on China’s economy along with its prospect is other pertaining issues discussed in the paper.