Construction of China’s sea power in the Indo-Pacific
Article
An article written by Éric Frécon, IRASEC adjunct researcher, with Paco Milhiet, just published in issue 189 of Hérodote.
In a context which echoes Valéry’s 1875-1914 “Armed peace”, Beijing has also recently developed multimodal maritime capabilities that challenge the traditional balance of power in Indo-Pacific, namely : aggressive attitude in the China Sea, transnational economic projects through the Belt and road initiative, development of hybrid military capacities, etc. These initiatives make the Chinese-American rivalry worse. Nevertheless, the beloved security status quo across the regional actors could last longer as there are some weak points on the Chinese side, which are often underestimated. Regarding naval bases and port facilities, it still must be materialised. Similarly, the diplomatic corridors, that China attempts to build along its sea lanes of communication, in the two oceans, are – at the very least – crumbling or incomplete. Does it mean new opportunities for the so-called second-ranked powers ?
27 June 2023
