← All questionsGS2 · 2013 · International Relations ·String of Pearls and India's Response
MAINS 2013
GS2
10 marks

What do you understand by ‘String of Pearls’? How does it impact India? Briefly outline steps taken by India to counter this.

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7 min
200 words
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What the examiner wants

Explain the String of Pearls, its impact on India and India's counter-measures.

What do you understand; OutlineAnswer exactly what the question asks.

Demand-wise check

  1. 1Meaning: chain of Chinese-built or financed ports and facilities along Indian Ocean sea lanes≈35 words
  2. 2Pearls: Gwadar, Hambantota, Chittagong, Kyaukpyu, Djibouti base (2017)≈35 words
  3. 3Impact: strategic encirclement, PLA Navy presence, debt leverage over neighbours, energy route control≈35 words
  4. 4India's counter: SAGAR (2015), Chabahar, access at Duqm (Oman) and Sabang (Indonesia), Andaman and Nicobar Command, Quad and Malabar≈35 words

Open in about 30 words and close in about 30.

Answer plan

Meaning and originListed portsImpactCounter-stepsLimits

Where marks usually go

  • No named ports
  • Ignoring that some ports are commercial, not military

Draw this

  • Indian Ocean map with Chinese 'pearls' and India's access points

Value addition

  • ReportThe term was used in 'Energy Futures in Asia' (2005), a report for the US Department of Defense.Booz Allen Hamilton, 2005
  • EventHambantota port was leased to a Chinese firm for 99 years in 2017.Sri Lanka, 2017