China making inroads into key choke points in Indian Ocean: US lawmaker

China is making inroads into key choke points along the Indian Ocean and obstructing the right to freely navigate the waters, an influential American lawmaker has said, expressing concerns over increasing Chinese investment in South Asia.

Congresswoman Young Kim, who is chairman of the Subcommittee on Indo-Pacific in the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said South Asia holds immense significance for the US foreign policy and national security interests.

The region faces a dynamic geopolitical landscape that presents challenges for the US policy objectives. The Indian Ocean is a crucial channel for global trade, an estimated 80 per cent of maritime oil trade and 40 per cent of world trade passes through the Indian Ocean, she said.

CCP is making inroads into key choke points along these routes and obstructing the right to freely navigate the waters. In recent years, we have seen Chinese ports in Pakistan and Sri Lanka, military installations in Djibouti and infrastructure investments