Paul, Joshy M

Abstract
Energy, particularly oil and gas, has become a strategic component of China’s foreign and security policy in recent times. Beijing’s search for resources for its economic success has created a notion of “scramble for energy” that portrays China’s increasing activity in the energy sector worldwide through investment and equity stake considered as a political strategy by the Chinese elites. In this energy hunt foreign policy option, China faces increasing security problems as its energy passes through the Malacca Strait and also the Indian Ocean region. As a result China pays significant attention to secure the sea-lanes of communication and for that Beijing applies a combination of diplomatic and military mechanisms in its overall foreign policy arena. In this scenario, its energy security could lead to some kind friction with other countries of the Indian Ocean littoral area, including India. In this regard this work attempts to analyse different aspects of China’s energy security policy and its implication for India.
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