China is using “coercive economic tools” to achieve its security aims in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) while also not adhering to international laws and displaying a lack of transparency in its ongoing efforts to establish overseas military bases, a senior US defence official said.China is using “coercive economic tools” to achieve its security aims in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) while also not adhering to international laws and displaying a lack of transparency in its ongoing efforts to establish overseas military bases, a senior US defence official said.