Indian Ocean Region: South China Sea – Vol. II

As China secures its sea lanes other powers perceive corresponding threats to their own. India can’t help but feel surrounded. The United States has strategic incentive to preserve India as a counterbalance to Chinese expansion. And, any nation drawing oil from the Persian Gulf or Africa must wonder about the possible negative consequences of unrestrained Chinese power. The increasing presence of Chinese naval vessels in the region only strengthens these concerns. So, the IOR is not only a point of potential geopolitical friction, but also a critical theater in any larger global power conflict that erupts over friction elsewhere.

The game Indian Ocean Region: South China Sea enables participants to play out possible future conflicts, circa 2025, from their political beginnings to military endings with the same game mechanics as used in the South China Sea game. Players assume the roles of nations or groups of nations and deal cards in multiple rounds of play each representing three to seven weeks to advance their separate agendas. Each card play might trigger armed conflict. If violence comes to pass, the time scale compresses to three to seven hours per turn and players deploy their military units to resolve matters by force. Those forces include: individual capital ships, pairs or triples of smaller vessels, squadrons of aircraft, and battalions of ground troops all waging war at the far end of logistical shoestrings.

• Three 22" x 28" map sheets
  
• Three Countersheets
• Deck of 39 political cards
• Two player aid cards
• Rule/scenario book
• Two Dice