[Dhaka Tribune] The "great game" of the Kipling era was between Britannia in India and expanding Tsarist Russia. Now a new one has emerged in the Indian Ocean, with multiple players on one side and China on the other. China under President Xi Jinping is concerned for secure sea trade access for its growing economy but its bases in the Indian Ocean are only part of asserting its challenge to US world hegemony, notably with the BRI. China now controls Hambantota port in Sri Lanka and Gwadar port in Pakistain. It has a new military base in Djibouti.
The US has a new Indo-Pacific command and links with India, Australia, and Japan in the "quadrilateral strategic dialogue." Australia and the US have pre-empted China by combining to fund a new naval base in Papua New Guinea.