Get Ready, India: China's Navy Is Pushing West ( Source- The National Interest / Author- James Holmes)
CNS Kunming ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons / 海防先锋) Source- The National Interest Author- James Holmes There are worse things than fleeing the bleak New England midwinter for warmer climes—such as Jaipur, India’s famed “Pink City.” So cold was it when I departed Providence last month that the nozzle on my plane’s fuel hose froze shut, grounding the plane until the crew could unfreeze it. Frolicking around in shirtsleeves at a Mughal dynasty fort in Rajasthan was a welcome relief from frostbite. The occasion for the trip, though, was three days of “quad-plus dialogue” about sundry topics important to Indian Ocean powers. The “quad,” or standing membership for these unofficial “track II” gatherings, refers to India, Australia, Japan and the United States. Sri Lanka is the “plus,” or rotating participant, for this year. Maritime governance in the Pacific and Indian oceans was the subject of my panel. China came up repeatedly during the gathering, which should sho