Chinese String of Pearl

GEOPOLITICS
 CHINESE STRING OF PEARL

The String of pearls is a geopolitical theory on potential Chinese

intentions in the Indian Ocean region.

It refers to the network of Chinese military and commercial facilities and

relationships along its sea lines of communication, which extend from
the Chinese mainland to Port Sudan.
 CHINESE STRING OF PEARL
The emergence of the String of Pearls is indicative of China's growing
geopolitical influence through concerted efforts to increase access to
ports and airfields, expand and modernize military forces, and foster
stronger diplomatic relationships with trading partners.

In 2005, the U.S. consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton came up with the
“string of pearls” hypothesis, which posits that China will try to expand
its naval presence by building civilian maritime infrastructure along the
Indian Ocean periphery.
THE STRING OF PEARL
 CHINESE STRING OF PEARL
The String of Pearls will be especially important in the 21st century since
China is trying to accomplish maritime superiority, thus challenging the
United States (US) and its position as a global superpower.
Every “pearl” in this chain or string represents a sphere of influence
which China is securing in harbors and in coastal towns along the shores
of the Indian Ocean.
The main point of this policy is the strategic placement of these “pearls”
with one another in order to make a chain of hubs that can serve as both
economic as well as military and intelligence cores in the IOR.
STRING OF PEARL POINTS
 CHINESE STRING OF PEARLS
POINTS
China has already managed to establish:

An upgraded airstrip on Woody Island in the Paracel archipelago located 300 nautical miles west
of Vietnam;
A container shipping facility in Chittagong, Bangladesh;
China has started the construction of a deep water port in Sittwe, Myanmar;
A navy base in Gwadar, Pakistan has been constructed. Beijing provided US$250 million to cover
the initial construction cost;
A pipeline through Islamabad and over the Karakoram highway to Kashgar in Xinjiang Province;
and
Intelligence-gathering facilities on islands in the Bay of Bengal near the Malacca Strait and the
Hambantota Port in Sri Lanka.