Sithara Fernando is currently a Visiting Research Fellow at the Institute of Chinese Studies (ICS), New Delhi. His current areas of research are maritime cooperation in South Asia and China's relations with the Indian Ocean region.
The objectives of this article are, firstly, to identify the place occupied by the Indian Ocean and South Asia in China's maritime strategy, and secondly, to identify the appropriate means of dealing with the global and regional maritime security concerns arising from China's maritime strategy as far as the Indian Ocean and South Asia are concerned.