President Hu Jintao’s four-nation African tour beginning this week will conclude in Mauritius, a geopolitically sensitive Indian Ocean island state that has strong political and security ties with New Delhi. That this is the second African tour for Hu in less than three years underlines the extraordinary amount of political capital that Beijing is investing in Africa. After hosting China’s first Africa summit in Beijing during 2006, Hu went on an extended tour of eight nations that culminated in the tiny Seychelles.

The Indian navy, of course, had no reason to see Hu’s interest in Seychelles as driven by the island’s tropical beaches. Nor would South Block want to believe Hu’s sojourn in Mauritius as a relief and recreation stop at the end of a long African safari. It might not be accidental that Hu’s two trips to Africa are ending in Indian Ocean island states that are rather close to India.

As one of the strongest supporter of the Chinese naval aspirations, Hu understands the importance of the Indian Ocean islands states for Beijing’s new maritime strategy. Amidst China’s growing dependence on imported natural resources, both energy and mineral, and its massive export of manufactured goods to foreign markets have made the protection of sea-lanes in the Indian Ocean a high priority for Beijing and a major justification for the rapid modernisation of its naval forces.

It is also not difficult to see why the Chinese navy would want long-term political and security arrangements with the Indian Ocean littoral states. Without special arrangements for access, its navy’s ability to operate in the Indian Ocean would be severely constrained.

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