This week, China will host the second meeting of the Indian Ocean Region Forum, an effort that aims to unite many nations in the area and strengthen China's influence over the vital waterways that border India.
Last year, the China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA), a branch of the ruling Communist Party of China's Leadership Group, hosted the China-Indian Ocean Region Forum on Development Cooperation (CIORFDC) in Kunming, the capital of Yunnan province in southwest China.
Luo Zhaohui, a former vice foreign minister and ambassador to India, is in charge of CIDCA.
According to the CIDCA, 19 nations attended the meeting, including Afghanistan, Iran, Oman, Indonesia, Pakistan, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Maldives...