India Aims to Counter China With This Nuclear Submarine Base | WSJ Coordinates

What is discussed, and when

1. 0:00 – 3:00: Bangladesh, Bay of Bengal, INS Varsha, Belt and Road Initiative
2. 3:00 – 6:00: Bay of Bengal, China's foreign ministry, Hainan, Indian Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Notable quotes from "India Aims to Counter China With This Nuclear Submarine Base | WSJ Coordinates"

• (calm music) - [Narrator] Beneath the tranquil shores of a coastal village on the Bay of Bengal, India is building a multi-billion dollar base.

  about Bay of Bengal · at 0:00

• Find itself in a conflict with, first and foremost the United States Navy, but also, secondarily, the Indian Navy.

  about Indian Navy · at 0:54

• And a guided missile destroyer that visited Sri Lanka's port in late August and docked just 4,000 feet away from the Indian guided missile destroyer INS Mumbai.

  about INS Mumbai · at 1:46

• The newest one, INS Arighat, can carry 12 ballistic missiles with a range of around 430 miles, or four ballistic missiles that can travel beyond 2000 miles, putting China's naval base in Hainan well within the range.

  about INS Arighat · at 3:58

• [Narrator] The Indian Ministry of Foreign Affairs didn't respond to requests for comment on how New Delhi perceives China's activities in the region.

  about Indian Ministry of Foreign Affairs · at 5:01

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

Companies & orgs

• Indian Navy — Company · 2 mentions · first at 0:59
• People's Liberation Army (PLA) — Company · 2 mentions · first at 1:39
  Chinese vessels, including those belonging to the People's Liberation Army, or PLA, are now frequently spotted in these ports, like these two landing ships and a guided missile…
• United States Navy — Company · 1 mention · first at 0:56
  By a number of powers, which China might plausibly find itself in a conflict with, first and foremost the United States Navy, but also, secondarily, the Indian Navy.
• Indian Ministry of Foreign Affairs — Company · 1 mention · first at 5:01
• China's foreign ministry — Company · 1 mention · first at 5:08
  China's foreign ministry said Beijing's cooperation in the region is not targeted at any third party.

Products & tech

• INS Mumbai — Product · 1 mention · first at 1:53
• INS Arighat — Product · 1 mention · first at 3:58

Concepts & topics

• Belt and Road Initiative — Concept · 1 mention · first at 1:27
  China has been building and investing in commercial ports in Myanmar, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka through its Belt and Road initiative, the infrastructure project Beijing has been promoting since 2013 in more than 150 countries.

Places & events

• Bay of Bengal — Place · 4 mentions · first at 0:02
• INS Varsha — Place · 2 mentions · first at 0:13
  Designed to protect India's growing fleet of nuclear submarines in a key area of the Indian Ocean, the new base, INS Varsha, has a secret design feature.
• Bangladesh — Place · 2 mentions · first at 1:24
  [Narrator] Over the years, China has been building and investing in commercial ports in Myanmar, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka through its Belt and Road initiative, the…
• Strait of Malacca — Place · 1 mention · first at 0:40
  Of critical shipping lanes that carry around 30% of all globally traded goods towards this narrow waterway known as the Strait of Malacca.
• Taiwan — Place · 1 mention · first at 1:04
  [Narrator] Some China experts believe the waterway could play a key role in any conflict over Taiwan (engines roaring) or the South China Sea.
• South China Sea — Place · 1 mention · first at 1:08
  [Narrator] Some China experts believe the waterway could play a key role in any conflict over Taiwan (engines roaring) or the South China Sea.
• Myanmar — Place · 1 mention · first at 1:24
  [Narrator] Over the years, China has been building and investing in commercial ports in Myanmar, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka through its Belt and Road initiative, the…
• Sri Lanka — Place · 1 mention · first at 1:27
  China has been building and investing in commercial ports in Myanmar, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka through its Belt and Road initiative, the infrastructure project Beijing has been promoting since 2013 in more than 150 countries.
• BNS Sheikh Hasina — Place · 1 mention · first at 2:11
  The BNS Sheikh Hasina naval base is still under construction, but was inaugurated in 2023, and at least one of Bangladesh's first two submarines, also made in China, appears to already be stationed there.
• Hainan — Place · 1 mention · first at 4:10
  With a range of around 430 miles, or four ballistic missiles that can travel beyond 2000 miles, putting China's naval base in Hainan well within the range.

Full transcript with timestamps

0:00 (calm music) - [Narrator] Beneath the tranquil shores of a coastal village on the Bay of Bengal, India is building a multi-billion dollar base. Designed to protect India's growing fleet of nuclear submarines in a key area of the Indian Ocean, the new base, INS Varsha, has a secret design feature. - Its location essentially allow for the underground docking of submarines. - [Narrator] Here's why this project forms the backbone of India's plans to keep China's ambitions in the region in check. (light music) The Bay of Bengal lies north of critical shipping lanes that carry around 30% of all globally traded goods towards this narrow waterway known as the Strait of Malacca.

0:42 And around 80% of China's oil imports pass through this critical choke point. - The Strait of Malacca can be controlled by a number of powers, which China might plausibly find itself in a conflict with, first and foremost the United States Navy, but also, secondarily, the Indian Navy. - [Narrator] Some China experts believe the waterway could play a key role in any conflict over Taiwan (engines roaring) or the South China Sea. - One of the ways in which China has tried to reduce its perceived vulnerabilities in this space is by building a growing naval presence in the Northern Indian Ocean. (tense music) - [Narrator] Over the years, China has been building and investing in commercial ports in Myanmar, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka through its Belt and Road initiative, the infrastructure project Beijing has been promoting since 2013 in more than 150 countries.

1:36 Chinese vessels, including those belonging to the People's Liberation Army, or PLA, are now frequently spotted in these ports, like these two landing ships and a guided missile destroyer that visited Sri Lanka's port in late August and docked just 4,000 feet away from the Indian guided missile destroyer INS Mumbai. - These vessels have habituated states within the region to the idea of a Chinese naval presence. (light music) - [Narrator] Beijing has also helped Bangladesh to build the country's first ever full fledged submarine base.

2:11 The BNS Sheikh Hasina naval base is still under construction, but was inaugurated in 2023, and at least one of Bangladesh's first two submarines, also made in China, appears to already be stationed there. - What China's investments in both civilian ports, but also military facilities, can do is create access points which the PLA can rely on for more routine sustainment, which in turn can allow it to embark on more prolonged deployments in the Indian Ocean region. (calm music) - [Narrator] Satellite images showing the expansion of INS Varsha reveal India's efforts to counterbalance China's growing presence in its own backyard.

2:54 - The most important part of the base will be the underground facilities within which Indian submarines can dock towards the the right hand side of the photo. The ability to build tunnels offer advantages, both in terms of hardening, but also protection against adversary surveillance. - [Narrator] And its location on the Bay of Bengal itself offers significant tactical advantages for India. - It's relatively close to a number of Indian air bases. It's an area in which the Indian navy enjoys considerable local superiority over the people's Liberation Army navy, and it's ringed on three sides by either India's own territory or states that are neutral or partially aligned with India.

3:40 Although obviously there's an ongoing competition with China for influence in many of these states. (light music) - [Narrator] Military experts say the base will eventually host up to a dozen nuclear submarines. India currently only has two. Both are Arihant class ballistic missile submarines or SSBN. The newest one, INS Arighat, can carry 12 ballistic missiles with a range of around 430 miles, or four ballistic missiles that can travel beyond 2000 miles, putting China's naval base in Hainan well within the range.

4:13 India's third SSBN should be ready in 2025, (camera flashing) but India still lags far behind China, (camera flashing) which already has 12 nuclear submarines. (camera flashing) - India doubtless would like to change this balance in the future. That being said, comparing numbers of like for like platforms is not necessarily the best way to look at a military balance, because geography and missions determine which platforms are most relevant. The question is not simply how many submarines of each type each country operates.

4:46 It's also one of reach because obviously operating closer to Indian shores, many of India's diesel electric submarines are within operating ranges where they can be pretty effective against Chinese attack submarines. - [Narrator] The Indian Ministry of Foreign Affairs didn't respond to requests for comment on how New Delhi perceives China's activities in the region. China's foreign ministry said Beijing's cooperation in the region is not targeted at any third party. - Even if Chinese engagement doesn't necessarily represent a military threat in the sense that it can enable the PLA navy to fight in the region, what it can enable and why the Indian government and Navy are perturbed by it is because it can enable a more sustained presence in the region that can set the preconditions for China to eventually be a much more credible military player in the Indian Ocean than it is today.

5:48 (tense music) - [Narrator] The expansion of India's nuclear submarine project comes as Beijing and New Delhi agree to deescalate another area of tension on the Himalayan border. But their competition in the Indian Ocean and the Bay of Bengal remains a source of potential conflict.

Questions about this episode

What is discussed in "India Aims to Counter China With This Nuclear Submarine Base | WSJ Coordinates"?

In order: 0:00 Bangladesh, Bay of Bengal, INS Varsha, Belt and Road Initiative; 3:00 Bay of Bengal, China's foreign ministry, Hainan, Indian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

What is mentioned in this The Wall Street Journal episode?

18 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including Bay of Bengal, INS Varsha, Indian Navy, Bangladesh, People's Liberation Army (PLA), Strait of Malacca. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "India Aims to Counter China With This Nuclear Submarine Base | WSJ Coordinates"?

The episode runs 6 min; the transcript is about 927 words in 9 timestamped sections.

More from The Wall Street Journal

• All analyzed episodes
• People mentioned on The Wall Street Journal
• Topics mentioned on The Wall Street Journal