Bill,

This theme has appeared several times in recent years here. The irony is that China's only "pearl" is that rather desolate place, with others present; yes, Djibouti. If you search for 'pearls' and go for posts about ten are revealed in different threads.

According to one regional analyst the ostensible vantage point for India, the Andaman & Nicobar Islands, is the scene for bitter inter-service rivalry between the air force and navy so to date nothing has been done.

It is noteworthy that the Chinese private investment and now ownership of Gwadar port, in Pakistani Baluchistan, has to date not publicly involved any PLAN visits.