India sympathetic to China's view on South China Sea, claims China's state Media

The dispute surrounding South China Sea has become one of the major concerns for India. The clash started as approximately 3.5 million square km area of the South China Sea, rich in oil and gas fields, have been claimed by China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei.

On Tuesday, Judges at an arbitration tribunal in The Hague rejected China's claims to economic rights across the Sea. Apparently the ruling will be claimed as a victory by the Philippines.

In the wake of this row, India seems quite uncomfortable. India's discomfort has increased severely because New Delhi finds that what China is doing in the South China Sea is being replicated in spirit and tactics on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which goes through territory claimed by India.

Although India does not want to intensify tensions by challenging China on the South China Sea, it worries whether anybody will support India's stand on the CPEC or not.

China has declared in its state media outlets that India is sympathetic to China's view, and the RIC statement affirms it. Meanwhile, US Pacific Command chief, Admiral Harris indicated India and US may soon be sailing together for joint patrols, as part of a roadmap of the Strategic Vision document signed when Barack Obama visited India in 2015.

In recent days, reports said India and US were discussing working together to track submarines and on anti-submarine warfare, clearly aimed at China. The South China Sea dispute has been in the news as it has serious global implications.