India has an aircraft carrier. It just finished its maiden voyage in China’s backyard. Those shipping lanes—one third of ocean-faring trade traffic—which China wants to claim by planting islands next to—most of them pass India. If any of them have traffic trouble, India will have reason to sail to the South Sea and clear up the cause of traffic congestion—or what some might call trade blocking.
India isn’t the only nation with a navy on the rise. Britain has its new aircraft carrier in the area. Germany wants to join the party. South Korea will join a scheduled US Navy exercise. And, the Japanese want to hire the British carrier builders to make their helicopter carriers F-35-ready. India’s carrier was built by a collection of 500 companies. If anything went nuts in the Taiwan Strait or the South Sea or the Sea of Japan, moving over to the Indian Ocean wouldn’t be a wonderful option since India already has its patrol.
Navies are snowballing in the East. If there’s money to be made in a Pacific scuffle, the convenient logistics of already having so many at the party could push the timing. Those islands-nations are in tumultuous waters.
Indo-Pacific
China
China doubles down on baseless ‘US origins’ Covid conspiracy as Delta outbreak worsens // CNN
Taiwan
China’s Ban on Taiwan Pineapples Backfires as New Buyers Step In // Yahoo Finance
Military Faceoff
S. Korea to conduct military exercise with US as planned // Bloomberg
Japan Wants Its Helicopter Carriers to Be Compatible With U.S. Fighter Jets // National Interest
A Ballistic Missile Submarine Shortage Could Spell Disaster for the U.S. Navy // National Interest
German warship heads for South China Sea // CNN
Warship positions faked including UK aircraft carrier // BBC News
India to deploy naval task force into South China Sea and beyond // CNN