China’s growing maritime presence in the Indian Ocean and India’s increasing sea interactions in East Asia is shifting the focus of Sino-Indian bilateral relations from land to sea.

The divergent views held by China and the United States on maritime security have recently been on display in the Yellow and South China seas and it remains unclear whether the maritime realm will become an arena of cooperation or conflict.

In November 2010, U.S. President Barack Obama visited India, followed by Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao the following month. These visits had a mixed impact on Chinese-Indian-U.S. relations.