An Indian Maritime Strategy for an Era of Geopolitical Uncertainty

The fractious nature of maritime relations in the Asia-Pacific region is a recognisable feature of international geopolitics today. Following China’s massive reclamation and ‘island-building’ project in the South China Sea recently, many Pacific states have moved to bolster their maritime postures. While Japan has sought legislative amendments to liberate its maritime posture from post-war passivism, Vietnam and the Philippines have been building stronger navies aimed at countering China’s hostile moves in the South China Sea. Meanwhile, Indonesia has sought to renew its capabilities as a maritime power through a new ‘maritime axis’ strategy, while Australia has boldly advocated an ‘Indo-Pacific’ framework for joint security endeavours and the creation of ‘middle-power coalitions’. In the interim, Russia has updated its maritime doctrine, announcing its military partnership with China as the cornerstone of its naval strategy in the Pacific.