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In the Article: ³String of Pearls:Meeting the challenge of China¶s Rising

Poweracross the Asian Littoral´, Lieutenant Colonel. Christopher J.

Pehrson, The ³String of Pearls´ describes the manifestation of China¶s

rising geopolitical influence through efforts to increase access to ports and

airfields, develop special diplomatic relationships, and modernize military

forces that extend from the South China Sea through the Strait of Malacca,

across the Indian Ocean, and on to the Arabian Gulf.

It is not merely a naval or military strategy. Neither is it just a regional

strategy. It is a manifestation of China¶s ambition to attain great power 

status and secure a self-determined, peaceful, and prosperous future.

  An examination and analysis of Chinese policy towards the South Asian

region in general and India in particular shows that China has been making

in-roads into India's neighborhood by forging ties with countries in the sub-

continent and South East Asia.

There is a view that this geopolitical strategy has evolved because of 

increasing Chinese dependence on energy resources from Middle East,

Central Asia, Africa, and the Americas and the need for securing the

energy supply routes and its maritime trade.

Each ³pearl´ in the ³String of Pearls´ is a nexus of Chinese geopolitical

influence or military presence. For instance, Hainan Island with recently

upgraded military facilities is a ³pearl.´ An upgraded airstrip on Woody

Island, located in the Paracel archipelago 300 nautical miles east of 

Vietnam, is a ³pearl.´

China and Pakistan signed an agreement of US$ 22.26 million for 

additional dredging of the Gwadar Deep Sea Port Project on March 24. The

development of the port is regarded as a shining example of Pakistan-

China cooperation and the port is expected to be ready for operation by

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2007.

Beijing has already established electronic eavesdropping posts at Gwadar.

The posts monitor vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz and the

  Arabian Sea. China has deepened ties with the Bangladesh government

and built a container port facility at Chittagong. In that country, China has

sought extensive naval and commercial access.

China has developed close ties with the military regime of Myanmar and

has turned the country adjacent to the Malacca Straits, through which 80

percent of China¶s total crude oil imports pass, into Beijing¶s satellite.

In November 2003, China and Cambodia signed a military agreement on

providing training and equipment. Cambodia has helped China construct a

railway from southern China to the sea.

China may have an economic interest which requires being safe guarded.

However, what is disturbing is the listening post in Coco Island (taken on

lease from Myanmar in 1994). Coco Island and the northern-most tip of the

  Andamans are separated by just 18 kilometers of sea. Officials say that

Coco is visible from the Andamans. The Coco Islands are thus an ideal

location for monitoring Indian naval and missile launch facilities in

 Andaman and Nicobar Islands to the south and movements of the Indian

Navy and other navies throughout the eastern Indian Ocean. Construction

of the Great Coco Island station began in late 1992 with the emplacement

of a 45-50m antenna tower, radar sites and other electronic facilities

forming a comprehensive SIGINT collection facility. With China controlling

the Myanmar ports of Akyab, Cheduba and Bassein, India's approaches to

the Andaman and Nicobar Islands could be threatened. China has another 

listening post at Hainji Island.

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China has been working aggressively towards building blue water navy

including acquiring aircraft carriers and long-range nuclear submarines.

China's acquisition of Varyag, the ex-Soviet vessel, ten new destroyers,

mostly from Russia and two Sovremennyy-class destroyers (now renamed

the Hangzhou and Fuzhou, respectively) equipped with 200-km-range

supersonic SS-N-22 Moskit Anti-Ship Cruise Missiles (ASCMs) are part of 

the modernization program undertaken to build a blue water navy.

The modernization of the PLA is a tangible manifestation of China¶s

growing national power. According to the 2006 Quadrennial Defense

Review, of the major and emerging great powers, China is considered to

have the greatest potential to compete militarily with the United States and

field disruptive military technologies that could, over time, offset traditional

U.S. military advantages. Regardless of China¶s intent today, powerful and

modernized armed forces provide China with military capabilities that the

United States must consider. With near-term focus on Taiwan, PLA

modernization efforts appear to be aimed specifically at combating U.S.

maritime forces that might be called to defend Taiwan and at denying the

United States access to regional military bases in locations such as Japan

and South Korea. Many of China¶s new weapon systems are applicable to

a range of operations beyond the Taiwan Strait. The expanding capability

of China¶s military power threatens not only Taiwan²and therefore the

United States²but also challenges U.S. friends and allies throughout the

Western Pacific, Southeast Asia, and South Asia. Unchecked or 

disproportionate, China¶s military modernization could lead to a major 

reordering of the balance of power throughout the Pacific. China began

modernizing its armed forces and procuring sophisticated weapons after 

observing the overwhelming success and technological prowess of the

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U.S.-led coalition during the 1991 Persian Gulf War. This was signaled by

the PLAAF¶s purchase of 24 Su-27 advanced all-weather fighters from

Russia in 1992, China¶s first venture into fielding a first-rate air force. In

1993, China began the acquisition of advanced surface-to-air missiles,

towed-array anti-submarine sonar, multiple-target torpedo control systems,

nuclear submarine propulsion systems, and technology to improve the

range of its undersea launched cruise missiles. The Su-27s and these

other military systems procured from Russia enhanced China¶s power 

projection capability and heightened the threat to Taiwan. In 1999, China

signed a contract with Russia for 40 Su-30 ground attack aircraft and a

contract for approximately 40 more was signed in 2001.

In the 1990s, the PLAN expressed interest in acquiring aircraft carriers, and

more recently military leadership has stated China¶s intent to build aircraft

carriers, true instruments of power projection. Rhetorical statements aside,

there is no evidence of China¶s furthering this ambition, either because of 

Chinese restraint and strategic forethought in accordance with the country¶s

overall ³peaceful development¶ strategy, or because the PLAN is not robust

or mature enough to put a carrier to sea without incurring substantial risk.

Deploying an aircraft carrier would not occur overnight, and the PLAN is

certainly many years away from actually launching one. Since the inception

of the People¶s Liberation Army Navy in 1949, submarines have constituted

an important component of its fleet. The importance of the submarines

increased, when in the 70s, China moved from a coastal-defense strategy

to a blue-water strategy. In 1994, China began modernizing its submarine

fleet with the purchase of four Russian Kilo-class attack submarines,

followed by a subsequent agreement to purchase eight more in 2002. On

18th September 2007, the People¶s Daily published photographs of China¶s

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new class of nuclear powered submarine belonging to Shang Class (Type

093). According to naval experts, China started working on this class of 

submarines sometime in the 80s to replace the older Han-class (Type 091),

which were considered to be very noisy. However, the research did not

make any significant progress till the St. Petersburg-based Rubin Central

Design Bureau for Marine Engineering was engaged to render assistance

in the development. The new submarine was launched by the end of 2002

and commissioned in 2006. This new platform has noise reduction

measures, underwater sensors and sophisticated bow-and flank-mounted

sonar arrays. China is also reported to be working on the Jin-class (Type

094) submarines. With this new Jin-class submarine, the Chinese navy

would be in a position to cover the Indian Ocean. These recent strides

made by the PLAN will have to be seen in the context of the ³string of 

pearls´ surrounding India.

The article is organized and well planned and the writer sketches the

picture according to the structured method without being into any

  jurisdiction or prejudice behavior. The research depends on both the

primary and secondary data interpretations relating to to the study of 

China¶s becoming super power in the east, The author tried to describe the

signs of emerging Maritime power of the world mostly in his own point of 

view and perspectives, geographical the article provides general argument

of U.S Air forcethink tank published under the authorization of Strategic

Study Institute U.S government.

The facts and figures presented are relevant to the study of  ³China:

emerging Super power of the world´.